The Uncrowned queen (Sequel to Scorned Lady)
by LillianaRose
Summary: Sequel to Scorned Lady. Mana has been given the opportunity to go back and change the events of the past. Meanwhile the Pharaoh tries to recover his memories of what happened in the past what caused Mana's anger and resentment towards him and his people. Loosely based on Season 5. I do not own the original Yu-gi-oh plotline nor the picture.
1. Prologue

The uncrowned queen

 **Just a slight backward glance of Scorned Lady's epilogue**

"Pharoah, I have a favour to ask you." Timeous stated, "Now that Mana is freed and the black reptile destroyed, she cannot live in the dominion of the beasts anymore. Will you be so kind as to take her in and take care of her?"

"Of course, Timeous" Yami responded...

Yami looked down at Mana and thought: 'I don't know what happened between us that might have caused you to dislike me or my people, but know this, Mana, I will do my utmost best to become your friend again and discover what caused your anger back then. I will also find out why it hurt my heart so much when I saw you on that tablet in my vision and why I feel envious every time when you look at others and barely spare me a glance. I won't rest until I have found the answers I am looking for.'

…"we will send you and the Pharaoh back to ancient Egypt and allow you to change the timeline with the knowledge you have gained while you were a statuette in the spirit world instead of just letting the Pharaoh relive his memories." Ra explained

"I can go and save all of them?" Mana asked…

"What's the catch?" Mana asked suspiciously…

"You are, as always, very astute, Mana." Obelisk answered the ex-magician apprentice. " **If** you are able to complete this "mission" successfully, you are to come back here, to this era and live life until the day you die. In other words, after saving your ancient companions, you are to leave them behind and come back here and live here. Also, you won't be able to commit suicide, as then we will let everything you worked for go to waste."

"Definitely a great sacrifice." Mana muttered to herself, looking down.

"Now, daughter, you aren't forced to do this, only if you want to." Slifer reminded the girl with a supportive smile.

"When do we start?" Mana asked…

 **Now, on with the story**

 **Prologue**

As the sun shone down merrily, we re-join our friends where they were enjoying a well-deserved vacation over at Mr. and Mrs. Pearson's caravan park.

Joey, Tristan, and Duke were still sleeping, when their slumber was interrupted in the worst way possible: Rebecca and Teá banging metal pans and ladles together.

"What's the big deal, girls?" Joey grumbled.

"All you ever do is eat and sleep." Teá answered with a knowing smile.

"Don't you understand the term 'vacation'?" Tristan asked. "If not, let me explain it to you: a vacation means eating, sleeping, playing and doing whatever you want to do, whenever and however you want to.

"I agree with Tristan." Duke muttered, covering his eyes with one of his hands. "Go do your blasted shopping without us. As far as I remember, we aren't your pack animals, so in other words, if you want someone to carry your bags, ask some of the idiot boys on jet-ski's down by the lake."

"Morning, boys," Mai greeted, entering the boys' caravan, "Is Yugi here? I wanted to ask him if he might know where Mana has disappeared to."

"No, it looks like he has pulled a disappearing act as well. I hate it when he does that." Tristan answered, pulling out fresh clothes for the day and shuffled to the makeshift bathroom.

"Morning, Mai." Joey greeted his girlfriend, pecking her on the cheek as he came out of the aforementioned bathroom. "Why are you looking for Mana so early in the morning? Did she have a nightmare again?" he asked quietly, so that the others couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"I think so." Mai confirmed. Mai, who has been sharing a cottage with Mana while Teá was sharing another one with Rebecca, has confided with Joey that Mana was constantly plagued with nightmares. "She's been having nightmares ever since we arrived, but last night's nightmare must have been worse than the previous ones. I thought that she might feel better if she talked to someone about it."

"Well, Yugi left earlier for a morning walk." Joey said aloud before whispering to her so that the other girls couldn't hear, "He said something about walking along the shore of the lake."

"Maybe Mana went to the lake." Mai said out loud, winking at Joey who gave her a sly grin. "I'll go there and look for her."

"No, don't worry, Mai." Rebecca interrupted her enthusiastically, "I'll go. Maybe **my** Yugi is down there too." and started walking towards the lake.

"Not without me, squirt." Teá said enviously, "And as far as I remember, Yugi isn't yours."

The two girls continued bickering as they walked down the path towards the lake, completely missing Mai and the boys' grins.

"You're the best girlfriend one could ever ask for." Joey said, giving Mai a loving hug.

"My pleasure." Mai responded before addressing the rest of the boys, "Tristan, Duke, you two are responsible for lunch and dinner as well as last night's dishes which you two o-so-conveniently have forgotten. I'll advise you to get started, because by the time you smarty-pants are done with the dishes, it'll be time for lunch." gaining a groan from the two boys.

"Meanwhile," Mai continued, "I still need to find Mana." and turned to walk away before calling over her shoulder, "Do you want to help me, Joey? Or do you want to be boycotted into helping the others."

"Oh no, I am not going to fall for that trick a second time." Joey answered and jogged up to his girlfriend, ignoring the boys' protests and pleas.

 _Meanwhile_

 _With Yugi and Yami_

Yugi was taking a nice stroll down to the lake, taking in the surroundings and listening to the bird's morning song. Upon reaching the lake, he lazily stretched himself out and mused to himself: "Finally, some peace and quiet for a change."

Yami, having appeared next to him said, "We needed this."

"Yes, we did." Yugi confirmed, turning his face towards his friend. Upon seeing the Pharaoh's thoughtful gaze, he asked: "Is something on your mind?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, Yugi." Yami answered while staring over the lake. "It seems that every time we restore peace to the world, a greater evil is waiting for us. Another thing that has been bugging me is that Mana has been avoiding me like the plague. With the others, and even with you, she is her normal self, but whenever she feels my presence or I am in control and try to approach her, she makes herself scarce."

"Yeah, I know what you mean about our challenges. Each time they just grow tougher and tougher. But look on the bright side, each battle we fight together, brings us closer to the secrets of your past. Maybe that is why Mana has been avoiding you as well. If that vision and dream you told me about of the events during and after her sacrifice are true, it might be that she knows what happened and is not at liberty to tell you yet." Yugi said in an effort to cheer his friend up.

"It might also be that she is still angry at me for something that happened in the past. Or did you forget what she yelled at Dartz when we were fighting leviathan?" Yami contradicted.

 _Flashback_

"… _BECAUSE OF YOUR REPTILE AND THOSE BLOODY EGYPTIANS, I WAS FORCED TO GIVE UP THE PLACE I CALLED HOME 5000 YEARS AGO!" Mana shouted with rage, shocking everyone apart from the Atlantian knights, especially Yami._

 _End Flashback_

Yugi stayed silent for a moment, trying to find an answer that might eaze his friend from all of the questions that has been hounding the poor ruler ever since they met, but before he could say anything he was cut off.

"There he is!" Yugi heard Rebecca shout.

Turning around, Yugi and Yami saw Rebecca and Teá walking down the path.

"I was worried about you Teá admonished Yugi sternly.

Rebecca ran ahead, fully intent on giving her "boyfriend" a hug but came to an adrupt halt. Yugi had lit up and when the light faded away, Mana stood in his place.

"Looks like my power is finally returning." Mana said with a cheerful grin.

"What have you done?" Rebecca demanded. "Where has my Yugi gone?"

"I am sorry but I haven't seen him since last night." Mana said with a straight face before explaining, "I was simply practicing my magic by performing simple spells. Sending all of Dartz's captives back to their respective times and wiping their memories of the event was very taxing. So, each day I come here and try to perform simple apprentice spells to see whether my magic is strengthening, and as you can see, I was finally able to perform a spell successfully."

"I understand." Teá answered, "But do you know where he might have gone?" she asked.

"Try the gaming shop at the park's entrance. I would reckon the King of Games would have gone there to see what duelling cards they have." Mana advised.

"Thank you, Mana." Teá replied. "Do you want to continue practicing or do you want to come with us?" she asked.

"You guys go on ahead." Mana answered, "I want to see if I can perform a few more spells before it's time for lunch.

"Alright, Mana, see you later." Teá answered. Turning around, she saw that Rebecca had sneaked off and had already gained some distance.

"That brat. Can't she just leave the poor guy alone?" Teá muttered before running off to catch up with Rebecca.

Mana waited for a while before calling out loudly: "Alright, Yugi, you can come out now. It's safe."

Less than two metres from Mana, a head peeked from behind a tree. Stumbling up to Mana Yugi's questions tied his tongue, "What the-? How the-? Why?"

Laughing, Mana said: "Deep breaths, Yugi. And I guess you want to know what happened?"

Still tongue-tied, Yugi only nodded, not even aware of Yami appearing next to him in spirit form, equally stunned.

"Force of habit, I guess." Mana answered. Upon seeing Yugi's frown, she decided to explain. "I saw that fangirl-fear look in your eyes when the girls found you and I acted out of instinct and swapped the places where we were standing. Fangirls really are a nightmare, aren't they?"

"And how." Yugi groaned with sagging shoulders.

"Well, if it's of any consolation," Mana said with a bell-like laugh, "the Pharaoh had exactly the same problem."

"Really?" Yugi asked, his eyes big growing even wider. Yami, who Yugi had noticed standing next to him, eyes grew as well.

"Uh-huh," Mana confirmed, "In fact, he had it even worse than you. Each noble or princess who showed up at the palace did their utmost best to become the new queen of Egypt."

"Really, now?" Yugi asked amused, silently turning his eyes to his royal friend, who was steadily growing a pink glow on his cheeks.

"Oh no, please!" Yami whispered with an embarrassed look on his face.

"That's right, and he always came to me, so that I could help him escape. In fact, he came to me so often that I could barely focus on anything else. So, I threatened him." Mana said with a mischievous smile.

"What did you do?" Yugi asked, bursting from curiosity. Sneaking a glance to the Pharaoh, he almost burst out laughing when he saw the red shade of Yami's face.

"I told him directly, that, if he was going to pester me again because he couldn't say 'no' and run to me for help, I wasn't going to be held responsible for my actions." She said with reminiscence. "And it worked too, until this certain princess showed up. Apparently, at first glance, princess Becca decided that the Pharaoh was hers. And no matter how the Pharaoh tried to tell her he wasn't interested, she wouldn't relent. And so, he came to me again."

"What did you do?" Yugi asked, bursting with curiosity.

"I wasn't in a good mood that day. But he was desperate. He was actually so desperate that he said I could even turn him into a cat if that meant that I would help him."

"What did you do then?" Yugi asked eagerly, sparing a glance to Yami, who was already cherry-red.

Mana looked at Yugi as if it was the most obvious answer imaginable and said, "He asked me to turn him into a cat, so I did."

Yugi, who was barely able to keep his laughter, looked at Yami, who, by now was tamato-red, and couldn't keep his laughter in anymore: "BWA-HA-HA-HA! Did you really do that?"

"Uh-huh. But don't worry, I kept him closeby to make sure he is safe. In fact, I think I made a sketching of him." She said and waved her wand. In her hand appeared a book, which she opened and showed Yugi.

Yugi took a single look at it and burst out laughing again. "You didn't tell me you turned him into a kitten!"

"Yugi!" Yami said, red with embarrassment, taking a glance at the picture.

"Ok! Ok! Joke's over, but did it work? Did the princess leave him alone from then on out? Did he marry someone else?" Yugi huffed out, trying to regain his breath.

"Yes, it did." Mana confirmed. "The Pharaoh was thankful, but my teacher wasn't pleased with what I did at all. Things started to go downhill from then on. Princess Becca was the last suitor I saw before I left the palace to fight that worm. I am not sure whether he ever married, though. I was unconscious in the dominion of the beasts for quite a while after my sacrifice. "

After a moment's silence, Yugi decided to distract both the Pharaoh and Mana, who were both caught in their own thoughts, by suggesting them to go back to the campsite.

Just as they entered the campsite, they saw a KC helicopter landing at the heli-pad. Instantly, Yugi knew that, whatever events which were sure to come in the near future, he and Yami were somehow involved and their newest adventure has already begun.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Previously**_

 _Just as they entered the campsite, they saw a KC helicopter landing at the heli-pad. Instantly, Yugi knew that, whatever events which were sure to come in the near future, he and Yami were somehow involved and their newest adventure has already begun._

Warning: Some bashing takes place in this chapter.

Chapter 1

Shortly after the helicopter landed safely, the door opened and Mokubah jumped out. Upon seeing Mana, he bounded over to her and gave her a loving hug. Poor Yami, who spectated their hug in silence, yet again felt his heart clench and decided to retreat into the puzzle.

"Hey, Mokubah, what brings you here?" Joey greeted the boy. "Your brother driving you crazy again?"

"Hey guys," Mokubah greeted his friends, "and, for once, Joey, he isn't. He has gotten himself a PA, meaning both Roland and I have a lighter workload now. Seto, the PA, Mom, and Dad will be coming later on today, but I was sent on ahead to ask you guys, or rather, Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Rebecca, a favour on his behalf."

"Come and sit, guys," Tristan hollered from the grill, "it's chow-time! That includes you, Mokubah! You can talk business later!"

After lunch, Mokubah started to explain to his friends that Kaiba-Land was opening soon and they wanted to kick it off with the best of the best duelists duelling each other, and therefore, they are requested to come too, especially Yugi, seeing of who he was.

Turning to Yami, Yugi asked him if he was interested, receiving an excited nod. Upon giving their answer, Mokubah grinned and thanked them.

After lunch the whole gang, save for Rebecca went down to the lake for a swim and some water sports. They were having so much fun that no one, except for Mana, saw the other KC helicopter land.

A few minutes later, Seto Kaiba Pearson, appeared. Seeing his brother's happiness and hearing his laughter, brought a smile onto his face.

"I hear you have taken what I told you into consideration." A feminine voice disrupted Kaiba's musing. Turning around, he saw Mana walking towards him. "Mokubah's seems to appreciate the lighter workload as well as having his big brother back." she continued, fixing her gaze on her pseudo brother.

"Mana." Kaiba greeted, nodding his head before turning back to look at his younger brother.

The two of them stood there for quite a while, before Mana disrupted the silence, "I envy you, you know, I would have given anything to have a sibling of my own, especially a little brother."

Turning towards her he asked, "Weren't you able to convince your parents to give you a sibling? Or were you too much a terror?"

Mana gaze from Mokubah didn't linger. For a while, Kaiba thought that she either didn't hear him, or wasn't planning on answering him, when she finally turned around and started walking back to the camp. She was just about to disappear between the trees, when she finally gave him an answer: "A firstborn can't have siblings if your parents were murdered a few weeks after you were born, can you, Seto?"

Shocked, Seto was still looking at the place where she disappeared, that he didn't notice Mokubah and the gang, who had gotten out of the lake and walk up to him.

"Hey, Seto," Mokubah greeted cheerfully, "When did you guys get here?"

"Not long ago." Seto answered, pushing the answer Mana gave him to the far recess of his mind.

Turning to the rest of the gang, Kaiba addressed them, "I assume Mokubah has brought all of you up to date with Kaiba-Land's grand-opening?" Upon receiving their nod, he continued, "Then you better pack up; we're leaving first thing in the morning."

A few hours later, everyone, as well as the PA, who was introduced as Kisara, were having a good time. Even Yami seemed relaxed. No one, however, noticed Rebecca glaring at Mana whenever she had the chance.

Everyone was just about to sit down for supper when Mana addressed Rebecca, gaining everyone's attention: "What is wrong, Rebecca? You have been staring a lot at me this evening."

"What are you doing here?" Rebecca demanded of Mana.

"I am resting and regaining my strength?" Mana guessed. "What do you mean, I'm not sure I understand what you are asking me."

"I did a little research about you." Rebecca announced. "According to what I found, you betrayed your people. Did you really think that someone won't find out? Also, did you really think that you can just sneak into a tight-knit group of friends and what, betray them as well? Traitors aren't wanted or needed. So again, I ask you, what are you doing here?"

Yami, who had silently been listening, had to restrain himself from switching with Yugi and coming to the accused's defence. 'I might not know what happened, but I do know that Mana isn't a traitor.'

Yami was about to think further, when Mana smiled sardonically and replied: "Traitor, huh? Tell me, Rebecca, were you there? Were you the one to wake up each night as a little girl because you were dreaming of everyone's demise? Were you the one who had tried to tell them of the danger that was coming, only to have them turn their back on you? Were you the one to realise that no matter what you do, they won't listen? WHERE YOU THE ONE WHO RAN AWAY FROM HOME, SO THAT YOU CAN GO AND FIGHT THE ENEMY WITH ONLY THREE DRAGONS WHEN YOU KNEW YOU HAD ALMOST NO CHANCE OF WINNING, MUCH LESS SURVIVING?! You don't, Rebecca. You don't even have the slightest idea of what happened, so don't you even DARE of accusing me of things you know nothing of, little girl. You might be a genius, but you are still a child and you still have a lot to learn!"

Mana took a deep breath, her eyes flying wildly over the stunned spectators, before lowering her head and said in a soft, yet remorseful voice, "Forgive me, professor Hawkings, for insulting your granddaughter in front of you, and putting your family to shame. I also apologise for destroying everyone's dinner with my outburst. Please continue your dinner without me." And with that said, she dashed into the woods.

A few minutes passed before the others finally realized what just happened.

"I don't think I've ever seen Mana that angry," Joey whispered to Mai, "not even when she exploded at Dartz."

"I think I'll go talk to her." Teá said, standing up. "She needs a friend right now."

"No, Teá, I'll go." Mai stopped her. "You're right about her needing a friend, but right now, she needs a friend who isn't as close to the Pharaoh as you guys are." she explained.

Five minutes later, Mai found the young apprentice nearby the lake, sitting on a fallen tree trunk. Joining her, the two sat in silence.

"She wasn't right about everything, but she was right about one thing," Mana said softly, "I am not wanted. I never was."

"No, Mana!" Mai protested, "How can you even-"

"I was betrothed once, you know?" Mana started, "He didn't want me either. Then again," she said, smirking ruefully, "he didn't know we were betrothed either."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Mai asked her gently.

"Would you have told Joey that you two were betrothed if he called you a servant behind your back?" Mana answered Mai's question with a question of her own.

A few hours has passed since Mana's outburst. The people who stayed behind silently finished their dinner before going to their cottage or caravan to plan deck layouts or to finish packing.

Joey, having finished both tasks, went over to Mai's cottage to see whether the girls were back. Upon knocking, Mai opened the door, stepped out, and closed the door again.

"Is she okay?" Joey asked worriedly.

"I think so." Mai said softly. "I gave her something to help her calm down. I just hope that she doesn't have any nightmares tonight. Oh, Joey, she told me so much that my head is still spinning."

"Can you talk about it?" Joey asked but already knew the answer.

"I think it's best she tell you and the others herself." Mai decided.

"Alright," Joey said, "do you need help with your packing? Rich Boy said we're leaving first thing after breakfast."

'Daybreak,' Mana thought, 'and yet again, I'm awake before even the sun wakes. It's time for me to go back to Egypt. The gods have finally given me the okay to make my move.'

"Morning, Mana," Mokubah greeted, cheerfully. Looking at her, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Morning," Mana answered, "and, actually, no, I'm not alright." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Moka, I need a favour…."

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Previously_

 _Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Moka, I need a favour…."_

 _On with the story_

After arriving at Kaiba-Land, everyone split into different directions: the duelists to get registered, Kaiba and Kisara to the tower and the guests to check into their rooms. Having noticed that Mana and Mokubah weren't present each group thought that they were with another group. It never occurred to them that the two were up to something.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, Mokubah, Mana and Roland were at a smaller, almost forgotten heli-pad. After giving him a big hug, Mana got into the whirring helicopter.

"Please take her to the airport, Roland, and help her get onto the right plane for Egypt. After the plane has left, come back here and give me a missed call. Also, please don't say a word about this to anyone."

"Yes, sir." Roland acknowledged and lift off, heading to the airport.

Waving good-bye until they were gone, Mokubah turned around and walked back to join the others.

 _Timeswitch_

Having carefully rejoined the group, Mokubah wondered what he was going to do to keep anyone from noticing Mana's absence, but luckily for him, Zigfriend Schouder came to his 'rescue'

A.N. THE TOUNAMENT WILL PROCEED AS THE CANON

 _Time and Sceneswitch_

Having safely arrived in Egypt, the young magician quietly left the city behind her and went to the Pharaoh's tomb.

Casting an invisibility spell, she sneaked in, and silently walked down the halls towards the main chamber, which was dedicated to the Pharaoh.

After entering the main chamber, Mana glanced around a bit, before uttering a spell that will cause all illusions to drop.

The last syllable barely left her mouth before all the illusions dropped, causing a narrow doorway to appear.

Heading down the hall, the girl arrived in another chamber, which was about half the size of the main chamber. And there, in the center of the chamber, stood Mana's tablet, _the_ tablet.

Walking up to the tablet, Mana looked straight at it and said: "I am the daughter of the gods. Heed my command and take me back- back to where it all began."

 _Sceneswitch_

Having felt a powerful pulse, Marik looked up.

"Ishizu, did you feel that?" He asked his sister.

"Yes, I did. Someone has entered the Pharaoh's tomb and uttered a very powerful spell."

"What if it's Bakura?" Marik asked, "We all know what he's capable of!"

"Then we better go and investigate." Odion suggested.

Having thoroughly searched the rest of the tomb, and turning up empty-handed, the trio headed to the main chamber.

Upon entering it, Marik said, "Either I am delusional or something, but I could have sworn that that exit over there wasn't here before."

"You are not delusional, brother, we see it too. A powerful spell must have conceiled this exit and an equally powerful spellcaster must have undone the spell." Ishizu said.

Cautiously entering the "new" chamber, the three of them stared around in awe of the beautiful room. The whole chamber was covered with pictures and hieroglyphics, telling stories of the Scorned Lady. No lighting was needed, because the tablet in the middle of the chamber, which once kept the awful snake as well as the beautiful woman captive, gave off its own light.

"This is magnificent." Marik whispered, still in awe.

Walking deeper into the chamber, something caught his eye.

"What on-?" Gasping, he called Ishizu and Odion over. "Guys, get over here! There's an unconscious woman over here!"

 _Time and Sceneswitch_

(A.N. Yami has just won the dueling tounament which was held in Kaiba Land)

That evening, as everyone lounged in their hotel room, the phone rang. Teá, being the closest to it, answered it.

"Oh, hi, Ishizu, how are you?" she asked cheerfully.

After a few minutes of idle chatting, she motioned Yugi to come to the phone.

"Ishizu wants to talk to the Pharaoh, she says it's urgent." She whispered to Yugi.

Quickly swapping with Yugi, Yami answered the phone.

"Greetings, my Pharaoh. I apologize for disrupting your rest, but my brothers and I thought it be best to call you as soon as the tournament was over."

"Did something happen, Ishizu?" Yami asked as dread started to fill his heart.

"I am afraid so." Ishizu answered. "This morning, we felt an intruder cast a powerful spell. When we did our rounds in the tomb to find the intruder, we came upon an entrance that has never been there before. We also found an unconscious woman in the chamber. Upon further inspection, we found that the walls were telling us an unknown story of the girl. We would not have called you, but when we had the girl in better lighting, we realized that, except for her colour of her hair and her skin-tone, she could pass as Dark Magician Girl."

Wide-eyed, a single word left Yami's lips: "Mana!"

 _Sceneswitch_

Slowly opening her eyes, Mana sat up. After waiting for a while to let her eyes adjust to the brightness of the sun, she looked around.

"It worked. I'm back in the past." she whispered.

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

_Previously, on The Uncrowned Queen_

 _Slowly opening her eyes, Mana sat up. After waiting for a while to let her eyes adjust to the brightness of the sun, she looked around._

" _It worked. I'm back in the past." she whispered._

Chapter 3

(A.N. Just like the canon, the whole confrontation between Yami and Bacura has taken place. PS. jUST IGNORE THE PART WHERE BACURA RAMBLES ABOUT THE ULTIMATE SHADOW GAME.)

Having arrived in Egypt, Yugi , Joey, Mai, Tristan and Teá were greeted by Marik, Odion and Ishizu.

"May I speak with the pharaoh?" Ishizu asked Yugi.

After switching with Yugi and being greeted by the trio, Yami asked, "How is Mana doing? Has there been any change?"

"I'm afraid there has been no change. We removed her from the chamber where we found her, but we returned her almost immediately when we discovered her condition to be worsening." Ishizu answered.

"Let's get out of here." Marik suggested. "We're gaining unwanted attention. We can talk when we're out of the city. I have a gut feeling troubles coming, and his name is Bacura of the ring."

When they were finally out of Cairo, Odion addressed Yami, "Originally, we would have taken you to the original of the tablet you saw in the museum. But we've been translating some of the new texts and we believe that you must approach another tablet, if you are to regain your memories."

"I see." Yami said. As they came closer to the tomb, Yami grew both more anxious and more nervous by the second. He was anxious, because he would soon regain his memories, and yet, he was nervous, because he feared what he would remember. Had he driven himself to lose his memories when he battled the great evil he heard of? Was Mana somehow involved in what had happened? One thing he knew for certain though, whatever happens from now on, he will soon have the answers he so desperately needed.

 _Sceneswitch_

"So this is the place where you grew up, Marik? Tristan asked in astonishment.

"Yes, Tristan," Marik answered, walking down the passages of the tomb. "We grave-keepers have been living here for generations, keeping grave-robbers out and the treasures of the pharaoh safe."

Entering the main chamber, everyone looked around in awe.

"The three of us grew up here and know every nook and cranny of this place, therefore, you can understand our surprise when found that entrance over there." Marik continued, pointing to the newly revealed hallway.

Taking initiative, Yami walked down the hallway and entered the smaller chamber which was housing the unconscious Mana.

Walking up to her, Yami gazed town at the girl who meant so much to him, and yet he didn't know why. Caught in his endless questions of what was Mana's involvement in his past, and why his heart clenched each time she ignored him, he didn't notice when he absent-mindedly tucked a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear.

"We believe that this stone is what caused her unconsciousness as well as return your memories to you." Ishizu said, motioning towards the tablet.

Walking over to the stone, Yami recognized it instantly. "It's the tablet I saw in my vision; the one the dragons of Atlantis brought to the palace.

 _Flashback_

… _Running into the inner courtyard, Yami was stunned to see three dragons circling above the courtyard. Then, to his amazement, Yami saw all three of them landing. The one in the middle put down a stone tablet. All three dragons bowed to the stone and faded away. Recovering from the shock of what he just saw, he did not focus on the tablet until a man, who was wearing the millennium ring, run towards the tablet, only to fall to his knees when he finally reached it. Swiftly, Yami felt himself approaching the man and helping him up._

" _What have we done? What have we done!? She was telling us the truth! We killed her, Pharoah! We killed Mana!" the man said crying, falling to his knees again._

 _Shocked, Yami felt as his head jerked towards the tablet, his knees give way under him and his heart ripped into shreds. On the tablet, was a picture of the most beautiful woman he ever saw, a woman who he considered his best friend, and a woman he loved._

 _End of Flashback_

Looking at her neck, he saw something strange, she was bearing a simple, yet beautiful ruby necklace made of gold.

"That's odd." Yami said, "I don't recall her wearing this necklace in the vision." Reaching out, Yami gently touch the etching of the gem.

Suddenly, something unbelievable happened. A beam of light suddenly lit up on either side of the archway, bouncing on the ruby and giving off a single beam of light, which shone directly in the eye of the puzzle, activating it, as well as creating a bright light, blinding everyone.

For a minute, Yami felt dizzy, and then he felt himself being sucked out of his puzzle and pulled into the ruby.

When the light finally faded, Yugi was back in control. Frantically, he called out to his spirit-friend, but didn't receive and answer. The connection between the two was broken.

Yami was gone.

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _Previously_

" _That's odd." Yami said, "I don't recall her wearing this necklace in the vision." Reaching out, Yami gently touch the etching of the gem._

 _Suddenly, something unbelievable happened. A beam of light suddenly lit up on either side of the archway, bouncing on the ruby and giving off a single beam of light, which shone directly in the eye of the puzzle, activating it, as well as creating a bright light, blinding everyone._

 _For a minute, Yami felt dizzy, and then he felt himself being sucked out of his puzzle and pulled into the ruby._

 _When the light finally faded, Yugi was back in control. Frantically, he called out to his spirit-friend, but didn't receive and answer. The connection between the two was broken._

 _Yami was gone._

On with the story

Yugi turned around to his friends with wide eyes. "The Pharaoh is gone! Our connection is broken!"

"What? Did that light-show have something to do with it? Joey asked.

"Never mind that now," Tristan interjected, "What vision was he talking about? Did he remember something?"

"He didn't tell you?" Yugi asked. After they shook their heads, Yugi sighed lightly. "Well, he only told me about a few days ago, and also he told me he wasn't sure whether it was true or not. The first vision happened in the valley of lost souls, after my and the Pharaoh's duel. He told me that after the duel, Timeous looked him straight in the eye and the next he knew…"

 _Flashback 1_

" _I'm in Egypt. What am I doing…" but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a dragon roar. Looking down he saw a girl and three dragons. Not far away floated a serpentlike creature that looked like the one he saw in the Ancient War. Upon further inspection, he was shocked to see the girl was Una , now known as Mana, and one of the dragons was Timeous. He was about to approach her, when he heard her addressing the dragons:_

" _Timeous, Hermos, Critius, we've tried everything and nothing worked. I know of a way that will finish the leviathan. This spell is powerful, but it will only be a temporary solution. We need his help, but he is too busy in his struggle against the thief king right now." said the young girl._

 _The three dragons looked sadly at the girl, nodded and stood back._

 _Mana raised her right arm to be parallel with the ground, doing the same with the left arm. Then, she raised both arms to let the hands touch above her head. With both her hands touching each other, she brought them down to her chest. Then, disconnecting her hands, she quickly thrust her arms forward._

 _Yami, shocked beyond his wildest dreams, looked down at the dragons only to see that all three were just as shocked as he was. Not one of them expected chains to emerge from her body. Then Yami heard the girl asking the three dragons: "Please take my tablet to the palace before you leave for the spirit world."_

 _Then, all of a sudden, she interlaced her fingers and harshly thrust her hands against her chest. Shielding his eyes from the bright light that erupted from Mana's body, Yami didn't see what happened to her body, but when the light finally faded, Yami noticed that the great beast was gone, and in the place where Mana stood, was a tablet; a tablet of a smiling Mana with a snakelike creature at her feet._

 _End of Flashback_

"And then," Yugi continued, "when you guys went to Kaiba Corp so that you could check the photos on his mainframe, he had a dream on the helicopter…"

 _Flashback_

" _Where am I?" Yami wondered as he felt himself walking down the halls of an unknown, yet familiar palace._

 _Before Yami could debate any further, he heard a loud roar coming from the palace courtyard. Running into the inner courtyard, Yami was stunned to see three dragons circling above the courtyard. Then, to his amazement, Yami saw all three of them landing. The one in the middle put down a stone tablet. All three dragons bowed to the stone and faded away. Recovering from the shock of what he just saw, he did not focus on the tablet until a man, who was wearing the millennium ring, run towards the tablet, only to fall to his knees when he finally reached it. Swiftly, Yami felt himself approaching the man and helping him up._

" _What have we done? What have we done!? She was telling us the truth! We killed her, Pharoah! We killed Mana!" the man cried, falling to his knees again._

 _Shocked, Yami felt as his head jerked towards the tablet, his knees give way under him and his heart ripped into shreds. On the tablet, was a picture of the most beautiful woman he ever saw, a woman who he considered his best friend, and a woman he loved._

" _My Pharaoh, what has happened? A man shouted, running towards them. Looking up, he saw five people, each carrying a millennium item, approach him and the man next to him. Letting his tears fall freely, he felt himself standing up, turn to the others and said in a shaky voice: "Its Mana, she's dead." and stood aside to let the others see the tablet._

 _End of flashback_

"Okay, that explains why he recognized the tablet," Mai said frowning, "but that still doesn't explain where he is right now or why Mana in unconscious."

"I agree with Mai." Teá said worriedly, pressing a clenched hand against her chest. Turning to the tomb-keepers, she asked, "Do you know what's going on?"

Before the tomb-keepers could answer though, another voice rang through the room: "The Pharaoh was taken to relive his past."

Swiftly turning to the door, everyone saw Shadi, the current bearer of the millennium key and millennium scale.

"Shadi? Is that y-" Yugi started, but was cut off.

"What the heck do you mean 'relive the past'?" Joey demanded fiercely, moving closer to grab Shadi. "He was just supposed to regain his memories for crying out loud, not 'make' memories!"

Reaching out, Joey grabbed for Shadi, but fell right through the key and scale bearer.

Glancing over his shoulder at Joey, Shadi said, "The thief-king, the one you know as Bacura, has stolen my body a long time ago. And he has followed the Pharaoh to the past to make sure that the Pharaoh fails where he succeeded last time."

"Wait," Tristan said, "what do you mean by that?"

"Last time, the Pharaoh used his name to put the evil away." Shadi explained.

"What about Mana?" Mai asked, anxious. "Why is she in this state?"

"It seems that she has returned to the Pharaoh's past as well. But I do not know why she has done such a thing." the stoic Shadi answered.

"You said that Bacura followed the Pharaoh to the past?" Teá asked Shadi, earning a nod.

"Then he's going to need our help." Yugi said determined, earning equally determined nods from the rest of the gang, "Is there a way you can send us to them, Shadi?"

"Yes, there is." Shadi admitted hesitantly. "I can take you into the Pharaoh's puzzle but from there on out, you're on your own. Therefore, you had better be careful."

"Marik, Ishizu, and Odion, who were spectating in silence, wished their friends good luck, saying that they can't leave the tomb unguarded.

After the trio greeted and left the chamber, Shadi used his key to unlock the puzzle for the Pharaoh's friends.

 _Sceneswitch_

After being sucked into the ruby, Yami felt himself being pulled down a dark tunnel. When he finally exited it, he had to shield his eyes from the bright light.

When he was finally able to open his eyes again, he found himself on a balcony, looking over a sea of people, cheering and shouting in honor of their new leader.

Yami, still too stunned about what happened was happening, was only able to say one word when he was told to address his people: "Uh, hi?"

 _Timeswitch_

It wasn't easy for the poor Pharaoh, having to pretend to be familiar with his priests when he didn't even have the slightest clue of who they were. Luckily, some face were familiar, and even though they weren't the same people, it somewhat calmed him. But, try as he might, he didn't see the face he yearned for.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, two soldiers were just killed by a whitehaired man with very evil intentions. Grinning evilly, Bacura headed for the Valley of the Kings


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(A.N. JUST LIKE IN THE CANNON, YAMI HAD BEEN REINTRODUCED TO THE WAY OF SEALING OF DUEL MONSTERS AND THE DANGERS OF BEING PHARAOH.)

Yami was just about to get lost in his thoughts about all he has learned in the past few hours and all the new questions that have formed, when a huge commotion caught his attention.

He was about to ask what was going on, when the Thief-King barged through the door.

"Bacura!" The pharaoh yelled, instantly recognizing him. "What's the meaning of this?!"

"I merely came to welcome Egypt's new ruler." The white-haired thief said with an evil smile. You do know why I am here and what I want."

"The millennium items!" Yami said with realization.

"So you have been paying attention to me all these years." Bacura said tauntingly.

Suddenly, a horse ran into the throneroom, dragging a sarcophagus behind it. Coming to an adrupt stop, the sarcophagus skidded forward until Bacura disrespectfully placed his foot on it.

(A.N. THE STORY WILL FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL PLOT-LINE UP TO THE POINT WHERE YAMI KNEELS DOWN NEXT DOWN TO THE SARCOPHAGUS.)

"The answer lies with the three Egyptian gods." Yami heard his father's voice run through his head.

Standing up next to his father's sarcophagus, Yami planned to summon one of the gods, when the inhabitants of the throne room felt a powerful pulse, causing Diabound to cringe and disappear.

"What is this? What have you done with my Diabound? You will pay for this, Pharaoh!" Bacura shouted enraged.

"The pharaoh hasn't done anything to your Diabound, I have." A clear feminine voice sounded, causing everyone to look around, trying to find its source.

"Who said that?" asked Shimon, still looking around, trying to find the source.

"That," the voice said, "would be me." and a woman appeared at the sarcophagus' feet.

"Who are you?" Seto demanded.

"Valkyria!" The pharaoh said, shocked to see a duel monster from Yugi's deck appear out of thin air without being summoned.

"It doesn't matter who you are." Bacura sneered, trying to summon his Diabound again, only to fail miserably. "I'll still kill you, Pharaoh! And I think I will start with your friend here!" and threw his dagger at Valkyria.

"Look out!" Yami shouted along with some of his priests.

Valkyria simply looked directly at the flying dagger. Raising her hand, a barrier formed around her, causing the dagger to clatter to the floor. The barrier grew swiftly to protect the pharaoh and the rest of the inhabitants.

Looking at the stolen treasures Valkyria said, "As far as I remember, these aren't yours. Don't worry, though, I'll return it for you." and flicked her staff, making all the treasures, including the sarcophagus, disappear.

Seconds later, everything reappeared in the tomb of the late pharaoh, and the door, was permanently sealed, never to allow any trespasser with evil intentions through its entrance.

Seeing that his plans of getting the millennium items failed, Bacura decided to retreat. "This isn't the end, Pharaoh, I will avenge Kull Elna!" he sneered and escaped before the guards could catch him.

Yami's eyes were still fixed on the place Bacura last occupied, when the woman's voice broke the silence: "I've sealed the Thief King's Diabound in himself. Do not get too comfortable, though, as it's only a temporary solution. The Thief King will come back."

"Who are you?" Seto demanded heatedly.

The girl answered, "I am Valkyria, and I was sent by the one who is considered to be the daughter of the gods."

"What?!" Seto sneered. "The Egyptian gods have no daughter!"

"That is enough, Seto." Shimon silenced him, "She has helped us and deserves our thanks."

Valkyria gave Seto a scornful look and said coldly, "You had better get that arrogance of yours in check, priest, otherwise you will be held responsible for the death of the one you care for the most."

Then, the stoic magician looked the pharaoh straight in the eye. "Pharaoh," she spoke in a voice laced with authority, "tomorrow you and your magician are to go to the temple of the gods. Inside is a tablet with a riddle that involves the Daughter of the gods. Find it, and solve it, for it will guide you to the answers you seek." and with that, she faded away.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Yugi and the rest of the gang)_

Once inside the puzzle, the gang started looking for the pharaoh, but up to then, they had always reached a dead end.

"I'm starting to think guys, that instead of us calling the pharaoh, the pharaoh needs to call us." Yugi said out loud with a thoughtful look on his face.

 _Sceneswitch_

Somewhere, in a hidden cave found in an oasis of the Egyptian desert, Valkyria appeared. Furrowing her eyebrows, she lit up.

When the light finally died down, Mana was on all fours, breathing heavily.

After she finally caught her breath, she said, "Well, that was interesting." and looked up the floating Dark Magician Girl…

TBC


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Previously_

…" _Pharaoh," she spoke in a voice laced with authority, "tomorrow you and your magician are to go to the temple of the gods. Inside is a tablet with a riddle. Find it, and solve it, for it will guide you to the answers you seek." and with that, she faded away._

 _Somewhere, in a hidden cave found in an oasis of the Egyptian desert, Valkyria appeared. Furrowing her eyebrows, she lit up._

 _When the light finally died down, Mana was on all fours, breathing heavily._

 _After she finally caught her breath, she said, "Well, that was interesting." and looked up the floating Dark Magician Girl…_

 _On with the story_

 _(With the Pharaoh)_

That night, as Yami gazed at the stars from his room's balcony, his thoughts went back to the events that occurred earlier that day, especially Valkyria, who claimed that she was sent by the daughter of the gods

He would have continued reliving the memory, had Mahad, the bearer of the Millennium ring not interrupted him.

"Pardon me, my pharaoh." Mahad said, kneeling.

"Yes, …" Yami started, 'What is his name?' he thought anxiously, before suddenly remembering what someone called the man earlier that day, "Mahad?"

"I have arranged for two horses to be ready for our trip to the temple tomorrow." Mahad informed the pharoaoh.

"That is fine, thank you, Mahad." the young pharaoh said. "However, I'm not sure I can quite recall where the temple is."

"There is no need to worry, my pharaoh. I have been there before as well and I still remember the route to the temple." Mahad answered, dutifully.

"Very well, Mahad. I bid you goodnight." the Pharaoh said, turning to look up at the stars again.

Mahad bowed and started to leave when a thought struck Yami. 'Mana told Yugi she had a teacher when we were at the lake. Could Mahad be her teacher? Does he know her? There is only one way to find out.'

"Mahad." He called out.

"Yes, my liege?" Mahad asked, and walked back to Yami's side.

"In all of today's excitement, I have forgotten that I have not seen Mana during the coronation." He fibbed as casually as he could. "Have you seen her by any chance?"

Sighing, Mahad's shoulders sagged. "I hoped to keep you in the dark about this, but it seems that I have failed." he admitted, shamefully.

"What is it, Mahad? Why were you trying to keep me in the dark? Where is she?!" Yami's questions fired, without giving Mahad time to answer.

"She has left last night, my pharaoh…"

 _Flashback_

" _Mana, what are you doing? Where have you been? You did not show up for your lessons." Mahad asked Mana, after he finally found her in the stables._

" _I'm leaving." The young woman said bluntly, while saddling her horse. "I have told you over and over that great danger is coming, but none of you believe me. Therefore, I will fight it myself."_

" _Don't be daft, Mana, and how many times must I tell you that my ring and Isis' necklace will tell us of any coming danger." He said exasperated._

 _Leading her horse out of the stable, she put her provisions in the saddlebag. Climbing onto the horse, she looked down at her once-teacher and said coldly, "You say the ring will warn you, and yet, how many times have that same ring failed you the last few weeks? You all have grown dependent upon the millennium items, but they are not infallible. Until you lot are willing to admit that I am right, I cannot stay here."_

" _I cannot allow you to leave, Mana. I will st-" Mahad started, but was frozen with Mana's famous freezing spell._

" _The spell will wear of in a few hours' time." Mana said, her gaze shifting to the gate. "I am sorry, Mahad, but this is the only way."_

 _End flashback_

"After that, she had her horse run through the gate and I haven't seen her since." Mahad finished.

"I see. Why didn't you inform me that she has left?" the pharaoh asked, while thinking to himself: 'I promised Timeous that I would protect her, but how can I do that if she keeps on avoiding and running away from me?'

"I did not tell you, because I did not want to worry you." Mahad answered truthfully, "But I wouldn't worry too much. We both know that Mana has a tendency to overreact ever since she was little."

"I hope you are right, Mahad. I truly hope that you are right." Yami answered uneasily.

 _Time and Sceneswitch_

After getting off their horses at their destination point, the ruler and magician entered the temple.

Carefully, Yami glanced around to get a better look of his surroundings.

At the foot of the altar, they found the tablet they were told about. Lighting a torch, Mahad and Yami took a closer look at its inscription. Luckily, to Yami's relief, he was able to read the text:

 _She walks among you_

 _and is known by all._

 _She will give up all_

 _to bring the enemy to a fall._

 _The queen without a crown._

 _She who can merge with_

 _others to save those in need_

 _along with the king_

 _in command of three._

 _Utter her name_

 _and together with thee,_

 _you shall bring harmony_

 _for all eternity._

 _Timeswitch_

Later, back at the palace, Yami was sitting on his throne, thinking about what he has learned at the temple, completely unaware of what is currently happening in the desert.

 _Sceneswitch_

Fighting the leviathan with the help of three dragons, Mana was getting desperate. 'As much as I hate to admit it, we need him, but how can I alert him from way out here? If only I could summon the gods… The gods! Yugi!'

Standing still, she called out to the three dragons: "Timeous, Critius, Hermos, stall that thing for a while! I'm going to call in reinforcements!"

Nodding their heads, the three dragons focused fully on the snake, allowing Mana to run to the top of a nearby dune.

When she finally reached the top of the dune, Mana concentrated very hard and mentally called out: 'Yugi! Can you hear me? Guys, I need your help!'

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(with Yugi and the rest of the gang)_

Opening a door, Yugi walked into a big room with no other exits.

"Guys, come and look at this!" he called his friends over.

Joining Yugi, they all agreed that thát room held a definite significance.

"I know this room is somehow important, Yug, but we've been calling out to both the pharaoh and Mana, and still nothing." Joey said, sitting down on the floor out of pure disappointment.

"I've been thinking about the same thing, Joey." Yugi responded, "Maybe, we've been doing this wrong. Maybe, instead of us calling out to them, they should call out to us!"

Just then, they heard a familiar voice calling out to them: "Yugi! Can you hear me? Guys, I need your help!"

Suddenly, a gateway opened - a gateway that will take the gang to their Egyptian friends. The five friends looked at each other, nodded in a mutual agreement, and jumped into the gateway, fully intent upon answering their friend's call in any possible way.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 _Previously_

 _Just then, they heard a familiar voice calling out to them: "Yugi! Can you hear me? Guys, I need your help!"_

 _Suddenly, a gateway opened - a gateway that will take the gang to their Egyptian friends. The five friends looked at each other, nodded in a mutual agreement, and jumped into the gateway, fully intent upon answering their friend's call in any possible way._

 _On with the story_

Having safely landed on the ground after their fly-falling, the group looked round to see where they were, when they saw the leviathan and three dragons, fully engaged in battle.

Yugi got up and yelled at his friends: "Look, Mana's over there!"

Mana who was still standing on the dune, turned to see her friends run up to her.

"Boy, am I ever glad to see guys. Yugi, I need your help. I need you to summon the gods so that the Pharaoh can be alerted to come and defeat old ugly over there. In the meantime, we could really use all the help we can get to keep that thing at bay." Mana said hastily.

"But how do I summon something here?" Yugi asked perplexed. "I don't have my cards or my dueldisk."

"Oh, right," Mana said and muttered a spell. "Try now, all you have to do is will it to appear, and it will do so." she explained and added an afterthought, "Oh, just don't summon Dark Magician while you guys are here – he does not exist yet."

Nodding their heads, everyone willed their dueldisks to appear.

"Why don't you start us off, Yug?" Joey suggested.

"Right," Yugi answered, "I summon Slifer, the Sky Dragon, Obelisk, the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra!" he called out, silently pleading that Mana's plan would work.

 _Sceneswitch_

Far away, in the tablet shrine which is used to house the pharaoh's summoning creatures, three walls lit up. Simultaneously, three beams of light, red, yellow and blue shot up into the air, heading straight for the desert.

 _Sceneswitch and timeswitch_

"My Pharaoh!" a tablet shrine guard shouted, bursting into the throneroom, kneeling instantly, "I apologize for the interruption, but the gods were just summoned! All three of them went straight to the desert!"

"What?! How is it possible? No one can summon them." Seto shouted.

'He is wrong;' Yami thought, 'I can. And the only other one is Yugi. But how could he be here unless…Mana called them…but why?' Thinking for a moment, it struck him. 'Of course…the black worm, leviathan!'

"Mahad, quickly now, when Mana left, were you able to see into which direction she headed?" He asked, thinking a mile a minute.

"Yes, my pharaoh." Mahad answered hesitantly, unable to understand what Mana's departure had to do with the gods' summon.

"She left again? That girl is really nothing more than just a plague." Isis said irked.

"Never mind that now, Isis." Yami silenced her hastily before asking urgently, "Where was she headed, Mahad?"

Frowning, Mahad started, "Out into the …DESERT! Mana!"

"Quickly, ready the horses!" Yami shouted, running to the stables, all of his priests, except Aknadin following him. Shimon, the old advisor, also followed them.

 _Time and Sceneswitch_

When the group finally reached their destination, (they were able to follow the three lights into the desert, even though the gods were way ahead of them) everyone, except for Yami froze in disbelief. A giant black snake was floating in the air and battling three dragons, who they've never seen before.

"Mana! Yugi!" The young pharaoh shouted and ran up to his friends. Joey, Tristan, Teá and Mai were all trying to fight the lizard, but they were no match for it.

"Finally, you're here!" Mana said. "Listen, I need your help. I need you to free the Atlantian knights and take control of the gods. We have to defeat that thing."

"What do you mean with 'take control of the gods'?" Shimon, who was the first to come out of his stupor, asked. "A large part of the archive was damaged or destroyed in the fire during pharaoh Aknamkanon's father's reign in a rebel attack. The decipherable part of the scriptures state that only the legendary king and someone or something will know the names of these monsters. Wait, do you mean you are the chosen king, Pharaoh?" he asked, instantly gaining the other priests' attention.

Ignoring Shimon's ramblings Yami addressed Mana, "I do not remember the enchantment to release Ra!" he admitted, frustrated that his memories failed him again, especially now, when he so desperately needed it.

"Don't worry about that. I know the enchantment to release him." Mana quickly assured him, "Just get the knights released."

"Here, Pharaoh, take this." Yugi said giving him his dueldisk. Taking off his Diadank, Yami quickly swapped it for Yugi's duel disk."

"I activate the spell card Legend of Heart!" Yami shouted.

Roaring the three dragons flew up into the clouds. The priests, who were watching the disappearing dragons, were astounded when three knights descended from the place the dragons disappeared.

They were still focused on the knights, when Mana's "My turn." caught their attention.

Turning towards her, they saw a glowing Mana floating in the air. Much to their astonishment, she began reciting an enchantment to which the Winged Dragon of Ra instantly reacted:

 _"Almighty protector of the sun and sky,_

 _I beg of thee, please heed my cry._

 _Transform thyself from orb of light_

 _and bring me victory in this fight._

 _I beseech thee, grace our humble game._

 _But first I shall...call out thy name,_

 _Winged Dragon of Ra!"_

Gaping, Mahad tried to say something, but all he could do was stutter. With wide eyes, he saw his apprentice who supposedly couldn't perform the simplest spell correctly, release the Winged Dragon of Ra, float in the air, and readying herself for battle.

"Knights," the floating magician said, "I need you to become the Knight of Destiny. We're going to defeat that eyesore the same way we did it last time."

"Last time?" Yami asked. "When you let their power flow through you to intensify it? You can't be serious, Mana. You could barely stand afterwards!" He said horrified.

"Do you have any other solution?" Mana snapped at him. "Dartz isn't in the picture anymore. C'mon let's go! If we defeat that thing now, while it is still too weak for the combined strength of the gods and the knights, no one will ever have to deal with it ever again!"

Reluctantly, Yami nodded, not wanting Mana to get hurt, but knowing there isn't any other way.

"Now, I need you to have them attack at full power; I didn't absorb any of that thing's attacks this time. It might be weak, but even now, it is still very strong." Mana said forcefully.

Again Yami nodded. Moving away, Mana readied herself to get into position.

 _Sceneswitch_

Has that brat gone completely insane?" Seto demanded.

"No, she hasn't." Joey answered, gaining all the priests' and Shimon's attention. "I've seen her do it before."

"Who are you?" Isis asked the strangers.

"Oh, don't worry," Mai said, her eyes never leaving the battle, "we're friends of both the Pharaoh and Mana."

 _Sceneswitch_

The lizard reared its head and then released its attack, but Yami countered: "Knight of Destiny, attack!" The Knight of Destiny obeyed and sent out its most powerful attack.

Once the Knight of Destiny's attack gained enough distance, Yami ordered the gods: "Obelisk, Fist of Fury! Slifer, Thunder Poise attack! Ra, ignite your mighty Blaze Cannon!" The three gods charged their attacks, readying themselves to release their attack once its strength reaches its maximum.

"Attack!" Yami yelled.

The gods attacked simultaneously. Their attack caught up with Knight of Destiny's attack, merged with it and charged forward. Then, all of a sudden, Mana jumped in front of the attack, with her back facing it, arms and legs spread widely.

Dumbfounded, the priests saw the attack go through Mana and intensify, becoming the strongest force they could even imagine. The merged attack, which was now twice its original size, easily overpowered leviathan's attack, and came charging straight at the snake, effectively killing it and permanently sealing its remnants away, never to rear its ugly head again.

 _Sceneswitch_

Slowly descending, Mana carefully landed on the soft sand of the dune. Doubling over to regain her breath, Mana felt someone at her side. Glancing up, she saw the pharaoh, who had a concerned look on his face.

"Are you alright?" Yami asked. She looked so fragile, as if the slightest breeze might blow her away.

"Is she okay?" Mai, who had run down the dune when the battle was finally over, asked.

"I'm alright, just a little tired." Mana admitted. "But that blasted eyesore is finally gone forever. No-one will ever be bothered by the likes of him again.

The rest of the Yugi-gang who had only recently joined them, went over to greet their royal friend.

"How did all of you get here?" Yami asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to see all of you again, it's just…"

"Mana. She called us. We were already in the puzzle, trying to find our way to you guys." Yugi explained. "We figured that you might need some help; Bacura of the ring followed you to the past, er…here."

"Who are you?" Mahad voiced the question that's been running through the priest's heads, "And how did you get here?"

"They're friends of mine, Mahad. Can you create some means of transportation? We need to get Mana back to the palace, she needs to rest."

Nodding, Mahad was just about to create the extra transportation, when they felt a powerful pulse.

"Oh no!" Mana mumbled. Turning, she staggered to the point where she felt the pulse. When she finally reached its origin, she crouched down. Picking up a little turquoise stone, her eyes widened.

"Mana, what's wrong?" Teá shouted.

Getting up, Mana ran towards them and yelled: "Get back! Get back, all of you! Knights, it's him! I need you to form a barrier."

Nodding, the knights jumped into action and formed a great barrier-cage in the form of a triangle, with Mana still inside. A more powerful pulse forced the still running Mana to stop.

"What's going on?" Yami demanded.

Mana started talking, slowly turning around to face a man that appeared behind her out of nowhere, "Every time I encountered a piece of the stone, I had hoped it was the piece holding you prisoner. It's ironic, that the one time I hoped it wasn't that particular piece, you finally show yourself, isn't it, Oricál?"

TBC


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _Previously_

" _Every time I encountered a piece of the stone, I had hoped it was the piece holding you prisoner. It's ironic, that the one time I hoped it wasn't that particular piece, you finally show yourself, isn't it, Oricál?"_

 _Presently_

"What is this?" Karim, bearer of the millennium scale asked. "Who is that man? His power is even greater than that of the thief-king!"

"My key can find no creature of darkness in him." Shada said alarmed.

"That is because he is a creature of darkness himself." A feminine voice said, catching all of the spectators' attention.

Turning around, they saw three women walking up to them and a portal closing behind them. The three knights gasped. Simultaneously, each breathed a name: "Kilala?" "Maira?" "Manaria?"

The three women gazed towards the knight that said their names, smiled, ran up to them and embraced them tightly upon reaching their knight.

"How are you even alive? We were told Dartz killed you." One of the shellshocked knights asked.

"We were able to pool our powers together and escape through a portal before Dartz's attack hit us." Maira, the blonde woman with purple eyes explained.

"We knew that you, our husbands, would somehow be present when Oricál revealed himself, since you are the guardians of the gateway to the dominion of the beasts." Manaria, the green-eyed brunette explained, "So we took a chance…"

"…That whenever he reveals himself, we'll be freed." Kilala, the white-haired woman with piercing blue eyes, continued where Manaria left off.

"This reunion of yours is very interesting," Seto interjected with a venomous sneer, "but would somebody mind telling me what that stupid magician brat is doing?"

"Young priest," Timeous started, frowning dangerously, "if you ever insult my descendant in front of me again, the pharaoh can start searching for a new priest." He said, shocking the priests who were unaware of the apprentice's heritage. "Mana has saved more lives that you could ever imagine."

"I agree, Seto, that is quite enough." Yami said with an equally dangerous, if even not more dangerous, frown. Turning to Timeous, he continued, "But he has asked a valid question: What is she doing? What is all of this about?"

"I'll explain, love, but first what is the girl's name?" Manaria asked.

"The child's name is Mana." Timeous answered, sighing tiredly.

"I see." Manaria replied. Turning to the pharaoh, she said, "You and your fiends might want to get comfortable, because this will take a while."

 _Sceneswitch_

" _Once, long ago, before the land was divided by the seas (_ AN Pangea, for those of you who might want to know), _the land was ruled by a king and his queen. The queen was believed to be barren, until a miracle happened and twins were born to the rulers: a boy and a girl. The boy, who was the eldest, was named Oricál and the girl was called Mana._

 _Both the children were trained and taught what is needed in order to be a ruler, because even though the role usually went to the eldest, an heir wasn't chosen yet._

 _But then, Oricál started to take an interest in the dark arts. The king and queen were already old by then, so they always just tapped him across the fingers and let the rest of it slide, that is, until the time of announcing the heir came._

 _When it was time to announce the heir, they had chosen their youngest, princess Mana, as their heir, because they feared what may happen to the kingdom if they left it in the hands of their son, a man who kept on meddling and experimenting with the dark arts. Naturally, this didn't sit well with Oricál. He disappeared and was not heard of again._

 _Time has moved on and the elder rulers had died. The kingdom flourished under Mana and her husband's rule and Mana had birthed a child._

 _Then, out of the blue, Oricál came back and attacked the kingdom with a vengeance. Mana, who had lost her husband in the surprise attack, feared for her child's life and gave it to her most trusted friend and advisor and his wife, pleading them to raise her child as their own._

 _She also entrusted the kingdom to the same advisor, upon agreeing that when the child is old enough, the child will be told the truth of its heritage and be revealed as the next ruler._

 _The war had dragged on, but Queen Mana's forces were slowly winning, and Oricál was well aware of the situation. So he turned to the dark arts again. He created a great green stone, name the Oricalcos._

 _When his forces were finally defeated, Oricál put his spirit in the stone, merely seconds before the queen's, who had followed her fleeing brother, spell hit him, shattering the Oricalcos. A piece of the stone had lodged into her chest, slowly killing her._

 _Before the queen died, though, she created a spell and a prophecy combination. She said that the one who bears her exact name would be the one who must defeat him, because only then, will he be able to escape his self-created prison._

 _As time passed, her Majesty, the Queen's name was lost and forgotten, but the story was passed down to her descendants, in order to prepare them for when he will appear."_

 _Sceneswitch_

Manaria finished her story, saying: "I am a direct descendant of her Majesty, the Queen, and Mana is my descendant."

Mahad got up, looked the pharaoh straight in the eye and said, "I have to help her. She is my student, and I did not believe her when she told me of that serpent. She could barely stand after defeating the snake; there is no way that she will be able to defeat a man that dangerous on her own."

"I agree, Mahad. I will he-" Yami started, but Timeous interjected: "We simply cannot do that."

"What? Why?" Mai asked, heatedly. "You heard what they said. Mana could barely stand on her own earlier. How can you expect her to defeat "his evilness" over there by herself?!"

"It is hard for me and Timeous too. Every cell in our bodies are screaming at us to go and help her." Manaria explained with a pained expression on her face. "But **only** the one who has the exact name of the Queen is to fight Oricál, otherwise, all of the Queen's efforts are wasted. The two of them has to fight until one comes out victoriously."

"You mean that-?" Yami started with wide eyes, not willing to believe what his mind just told him.

"Yes, Pharaoh," Timeous confirmed, "this is a fight to the death."

TBC


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 _Previously_

" _You mean that-?" Yami started with wide eyes, not willing to believe what his mind just told him._

" _Yes, Pharaoh," Timeous confirmed, "this is a fight to the death."_

 _Presently_

"You! How are you alive! I killed you myself!" the man, now identified as Oricál, shouted outraged.

"Yes, you have killed your sister. Unfortunately for you, I am not her; I am her descendant, the first one to have her exact name." Mana answered calmly, while wracking her brains in an effort to think of a strategy to overpower him or at least weaken him enough for her to defeat him.

"Liar! She didn't have children!" Oricál bellowed.

"She did," Mana countered while keeping the cool façade "She entrusted her only child to her advisor and his wife who passed the child off as their own. She wanted to make sure that you would not be able to kill the child like you killed her husband."

"Well, I can always make sure that her line ends with you." Oricál sneered and attacked.

Mana, who was still somewhat weak from the manoeuvres used in the battle against the serpent, was able to dodge the attack just in time. Getting up from where she had fallen, she knew that she was going to have to work fast - sloppiness was not an option.

Running away from the offender to gain some distance, Mana carefully observed her surroundings to see if she had something she could use to her advantage.

Oricál sent multiple dark spells at her, while running up to her, fully intent to shove the sword he conjured through the girl's heart.

"Mana, look out!" Yami shouted to alert the girl of the ancient magician who was swiftly approaching her.

Turning around just in time, Mana raised the wand she hastily summoned to deflect the sword.

"You are no match for me, you pathetic girl. I can easily overpower you. Look at you, already panting and we have not even started yet. You are a disgrace. You are not worthy of my sister's name. If the whole world is as weak as you are, then this world, the kingdom which should have been mine, instead of my sister's, will be mine before the end of the day." Orical said smugly.

'He's right. I am at my wits' end.' Mana thought 'I cannot defeat him if I just continue defending myself. Think, Mana, think! There must be something you can do!'

"Don't you even dare believe him, Mana! I have seen personally seen what you can do! You saved Joey, Yugi, the Pearson brothers and thousands of other people Dartz and that snake have taken captive!" Mai yelled, trying to encourage the girl not to give up.

"She's right and as if that's not enough, you sent each and every one of the captives to their own times and ensured that they won't be captured by that worm again! And need I remind you that you also erased the whole incident from their minds so that they won't be plagued by it?" Joey added.

"You're the reason we were able to defeat that thing so that no one will ever be bothered by it again, Mana! You saved all of us, Mana, each and every one of us!." Yami voiced his opinion, desperately trying to convince the magician not to give up.

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save all of us, because we didn't listen to your warnings! You were right, Mana! You were right and as your master, I apologize for ignoring you when I should have believed you from the start. If there is anyone who can defeat that man, then it is you!" Mahad said with conviction.

Mana, who had listened to them, started to think of any possible way to defeat her enemy when it suddenly struck her…

 _Flashback_

 _(Mana POV)_

 _The pharaoh, who was dying, had called me to his chambers. As I went kneeled at his bedside, I asked him why he called for me when he should actually be spending time with his son._

" _I have called for you, because I need tell you something, child." the dying pharaoh said, "When you were born, you were born with a lot of magical power. Because you had so much power, I personally sealed half of it away so that it could grow. When the time arrives, the seal will be released naturally. The seal can forcibly be opened, but you must promise me that you will only release the seal in the most dire of circumstances. Promise me, Mana."_

" _I promise, pharaoh Aknamkanon, but how do you forcibly release the seal. And when will it be released naturally?"_

" _The wristbands I gave you when you were still a baby aren't just normal wristbands. Have you noticed how their size always adjusted as you grew up? They are the connection to the seal, a key of sorts. If you take them off, the seal will be released forcefully, but when they crack the whole way through and fall off, the seal has been released naturally. The Egyptian gods did not tell me a lot about the natural release though, you will have to ask them yourself, but it's more than likely that certain conditions will have to be met for the sealed magic to be released naturally." Aknamkanaon explained._

" _Must the seal be closed again if I release it forcefully?" Mana asked, wanting to know all the facts about the seal._

" _Yes, child, it must be sealed again. It must grow until it has reached its full potential." The waning pharaoh answered. "Just put the wristbands back on as soon as possible, because if you don't, that sealed away power might be too much for your body to handle…"_

 _End of Flashback_

'That's it!' Mana thought. 'I know what to do now. I was told to only use it in the most dire of circumstances, I would think that this situation is fitting.' and ripped of her wristbands.

 _Sceneswitch_

On the outskirts of the desert, far away from the palace and even farther from the current battle, lies an old magician's training field that have been used by apprentices, magicians and magicians in training for many generations. This old training field was also a place where some magicians sealed some of their magic away. The moment Mana took her wristbands off, one could hear clicking and creaking, as if a key has been used to open an old rusted lock that hasn't been used in years. Screeching, the seal opened, like and old wooden door whose hinges had seen better times. But the moment the 'door' was fully open, something shot into the sky, directly taking its course to its master.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, Mana was with her back pressed against one of the barrier's walls, desperately trying to outlast or dodge her enemy's attacks, but she was pressed in a corner, much to the spectators' frustration to be stuck on the other side of the barrier, unable to help her.

'I could really use that sealed magic right about n-' her thoughts were cut off when a stream of lightning hit her directly in the chest, temporarily blinding her enemy. When he finally opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that the girl who was like a rat in a trap merely seconds ago was missing.

"Behind you." He heard her say. Swinging around, he looked straight at the girl. He was surprised, because not a glimpse of the scared, yet brave girl of a few seconds ago could be seen, instead he saw a cool, confident, and calm woman, who had caught her second breath and was ready for battle. Said woman was bathed in what looked like liquid lightning (imagine Laxus (Fairy Tail) bathed in his yellow lightning )

Swinging his sword at the girl for a killing blow, Oricál was shocked to see the woman calmly deflect it with the wand-transformed sword single-handedly (imagine Ichigo (Bleach) just before his ultimate form in his fight against Aizen). Lightning was dancing dangerously around the girl, burning the sand beneath and around her to a crisp.

The battle lasted for a good 15 to 20 minutes before Oricál swapped his sword for his wand, giving Mana time to move around him so that she was standing directly behind him.

"Too slow." She whispered in his ear, "Good-bye, Oricál, I will finish what my ancestor started." Oricál had barely registered what she said, when she appeared right in front of him and thrust her sword into her enemy's chest, de-transformed it back into a wand and muttered a deadly spell, effectively killing him. Pulling her wand out of her enemy's chest, the dead man crumpled to the floor. Mana turned away from him, staggered to her wristbands and put it on.

Slowly, the barrier surrounding Mana and Orical's corpse disappeared. The moment it was completely gone, Yami started to walk towards her, but the walk turned into a full-out sprint. He had just reached her in time to let the girl with unsteady legs up.

"Did I ever tell you that you have perfect timing, Pharaoh?" Mana slurred into his chest too tired to lift her head.

"Mana, are you alright?" Yami asked with a concerned voice.

"Sleepy…" was all he could hear before the girl fully lost consciousness. Yami, who caught her crumbling form just in time, slowly lied her down on the sand.

"Mana? Mana, wake up!" he said urgently, gently shaking her in an effort to wake her, but to no avail.

"Stand back, Pharaoh," he heard Mai tell him, "let me take a look at her." and with that, she knelt by the unconscious girl and placed her fingers on Mana's neck to check her pulse.

"Mai, what-?" He started asking her, but was cut off.

"It's alright, Pharaoh. Let Mai check her. You may not know this, but before Mai became a professional duelist, she studied the arts of healing. She's a fully qualified doctor." Joey told his friend reassuringly.

After a while, Mai turned to her friends and smiled at them. "Apart from being exhausted of the two battles, she is completely fine. Mana will most likely wake in the morning and be her usual self."

"Very well, Mahad, will you please create transportation for my friends so that we can go back to the palace. I'll be taking Mana with me on my horse."

"Certainly, Pharaoh." Mahad answered and turned around to see to the transportation.

"The prophecy has finally been fulfilled. Thanks to her, we are finally free to return to our home." Manaria said proudly.

"We will be taking our leave now." Timeous announced before turning to Yami "I know that I asked you before, but again, I feel the need to ask you to protect little Mana for us. Will you do that for us, Pharaoh?"

"Of course, Timeous, I will protect her for you."

"I thank you, Pharaoh. Goodbye." Timeous said and with that, the Atlantians faded away.

Yami got on his horse first and took Mana from Joey. Once, the others were on their horses or in the wagon Mahad created, they started moving back to the palace.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

About three days has passed since Yugi and the gang's arrival in Egypt, Mana and the pharaoh's battle with the black lizard and Mana's battle against Oricál.

Mana, although her magic was fully restored because of the sealed powers, was forbidden to use magic for at least a week by "doctor" Mai so that her body could rest and heal properly.

Meanwhile, Yugi and the rest of the gang were catching up with the pharaoh and brought each other up to speed with everything that happened since they were separated.

Shimon and the rest of the priests could all be found in the archives, trying to find more information on the legendary king or the daughter of the gods with the knowledge they have recently gained, but so far, they had come up empty-handed.

After another unsuccessful day, the priests were gathered in the throne room, reporting that yet again, they had come up empty handed, when they heard a feminine scream and saw a terrified Mana bolting into the throne room.

"Help me! Please help me! The soldiers –" she started but was cut off when two guards entered the throne room. Mana, who saw them, ran toward the standing pharaoh and hid behind him for protection.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mahad demanded. "Why are you chasing Mana as if she is a criminal?"

"We apologize for the inconvenience and for letting the girl get this far. We will take her off your hands and lock her in the deepest darkest cell we have." One of the kneeling guards said respectfully.

"You still haven't answered Mahad's question. Why are you chasing a woman, who is supposed to rest, all over the palace? And why would you want to throw her into the prisoner's cells?" Shimon asked.

"The decree, visor Shimon. We were notified that if any of us soldiers see the apprentice, we are to capture her, because she is insane and may harm the citizens." The same guard explained.

"What?!" Isis demanded. "When was this ridiculous decree taken into effect? And why do we priests know nothing of it?"

"It was taken into effect a few days before the coronation, Priestess Isis." The second guard answered. "She was supposed to be captured before the coronation, but her being a magician, or at least an apprentice in magic, made it difficult for us to apprehend the girl."

"My millennium necklace tells me that you are telling the truth, but you still did not tell us whose signet ring was used to seal the decree." Isis stated. (A.N. signet rings and others seals were pressed into melted wax, which means it was okayed by a ruler. For further information, see wiki/Seal_(emblem))

The words barely left Isis' mouth when Aknadin walked into the throne room. Seeing Mana, he started shouting at the guards. "Why have you two fools not captured the girl yet? She is insane, going on about a black snake threatening to kill us all!"

"They will not do anything of the sort." Yami said and addressed the soldiers, "You may return to your posts, and tell the rest of the soldiers that that ridiculous decree has been repealed."

Once the soldiers left the throne room, Mahad confronted Aknadin, while doing his utmost to keep his anger in check: "Aknadin, was it you who placed the decree of Mana's capture?"

"I did it on the pharaoh's behalf. That brat is certifiably insane! Have you heard the ludicrous stories that she has been telling everyone?! A black snake-" the guardian started, but was adruptly cut off.

"Which was in the desert, floating in the air at least five poles from the ground. (AN. A pole is about 60 cm according to Wikipedia. Therefore 5 poles would be 300 cm, in other words 3 meters) I have seen it myself!" Seto cut him off, stunning everyone in the room when he started defending the girl. "The girl is definitely not insane. You have not seen that thing, nor have you seen her free one of the Egyptian gods, levitate in the air or fight a man with an immeasurable amount of power and then kill him entirely on her own. You always preach to me about going over the top, but this time, it is you who have acted rashly."

"Aknadin, I know you did what you did for the good of Egypt, but please, don't place decrees on my behalf; rather come talk to me and the rest of the priest so that we can make a mutual decision." Yami said, while trying to soothe Mana, who was still clinging to him as if he was a lifeline.

"Very well, Pharaoh, as you wish." Aknadin said, bowing in acknowledgement.

"Come, Mana, I will return you to your chambers. You need to rest." Mahad said, walking up to the girl and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, the inner garden. Mai told me to stay there while she went to fetch something in my room, when the soldiers started chasing me." Mana said tiredly.

"Alright, let's go." Mahad said and started steering his apprentice out of the throne room.

"I think we've had enough excitement for today," Yami said, "everyone is dismissed until the evening meal." and hurried after the magicians.

 _Scene and timeswitch_

After dinner, Yami, Yugi, Teá, Joey, and Tristan were again looking at the prophesy, trying to fill in some of the riddle's blanks.

"The ' _In command of three'_ could be you, Pharaoh, being able to control the Egyptian gods." Tristan pointed out. "But I can't make sense out of anything else."

"I think you're right, Tristan, but what about the rest of the riddle?" Teá stated, "There are just too many unanaswered factors. What did you priests say, Pharaoh? Did they know of anyone who can merge with duelling monsters?"

"Is that even allowed?" Joey interjected.

"No, they do not know of anyone who is able to do it and the act of merging with a duel monster is considered forbidden, because they will then lose their humanity, thus causing them to become a permanent duel monster." Yami answered.

Yugi, who was silent the whole time, decided to voice a question: "Pharaoh, can you remember what your name is?"

"No, Yugi, I don't. Everyone calls me 'my King' or 'Pharaoh. Why?" Yami asked.

"When we were in the puzzle, Shadi told us that we need to find your name. Maybe, we can use your name as a loophole instead of the answer to the riddle.

"Where will we find what?" Mai asked as she joined the rest of the gang. Mai had decided to stay with Mana until she was asleep; the events of earlier that day had left the poor apprentice quite rattled and jumpy.

"A, Mai, how is she?" Yami asked concerned.

"Sleeping. Now, what were you guys talking about?" Mai asked.

After they brought her up to speed with the recent events, she asked: "Yugi, didn't your grandfather say that ruler's tombs held the name of said ruler above the ruler's casket, or something like that?"

"Yes, you're right, Mai. If we don't find any clues to the riddle soon, we might have to go there to look for it. Shadi did say that your name is the key to your memories, pharaoh." Yugi said.

"We don't actually have time on our side. I think you lot must go tomorrow and see if you can find anyting. I will not be able to join you. Bacura may attack at any time and I cannot risk the safety of my people while he is still out on the loose." Yami explained.

"I will stay too. Mana might be better, but I don't want to risk her health at this moment." Mai said, concerned for her pseudo little sister.

"Very well. If you are to head out tomorrow, you all better get some rest, because it is already well into the night." Yami agreed.

"After saying goodnight, everyone went to their rooms for a well-deserved rest. Mai had peeked upon the "patient" from the door and after seeing that Mana was fast asleep, went to her own chambers, completely unaware that a pillow was sleeping for Mana.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, Mahad was walking down the halls of the magician's training grounds, thinking and reminiscing about earlier events

 _Flasback 1_

 _After he protected the young prince from the snake and got bit himself, Yami immediately bent down and started sucking the poison out._

" _No, my prince! The future pharaoh needn't do this!" Mahad protested, but the young prince ignored him._

 _Once finished, the young prince sat up and said with persuasion: "You were bit by a snake and I'm getting the poison out. If it were the other way around, you would do the same for me, and do you know why? Because we are friends!"_

 _Smiling, Mahad answered: "Yes, we are."_

 _The young prince nodded and then said: "Someday, when I become pharaoh, you will be standing there, right by my side, Mahad. I would not have it any other way."_

 _Flasback End_

 _Flasback 2_

 _As he and some of the soldiers walked through the streets of the village to see how much danger was done, Mahad was approached by young boy: "Excuse me."_

" _Yes?" Mahad answered kindly._

" _Are you here to protect us from that scary guy?" the young boy asked. As Mahad gazed into the boy's eyes and saw hope and faith shining in it, Mahad couldn't help but smile and answer: "Yes, we are. I promise he will not scare anyone again."_

" _Good!" the little boy said and run off._

 _Just then something caught Mahad's eye, and there, at the outskirts of the village, was Bacura. 'You will not get away with this, Bacura!" Mahad silently swore to himself._

 _Flasback End_

'I convinced the pharaoh to let me come and try to trap Bacura's monster here. I did not tell him, however that my plan is a double-edged sword that could lead to my demise instead of Bacura's. If everything goes according to plan, I would be able to overpower Bacura's Diabound after I unleash the power I sealed away so long ago. If I am able to overpower him, Bacura will run, and since there is only one exit out of the training grounds, he will be forced to take it. It is then, at that precise moment when he exits the entrance, that the stationed soldiers must release the stone tablet fall on Diabound, sealing it.'

Standing on a narrow ledge Mahad continued his thoughts: 'You have saved me before, my Pharaoh. And now, at last, I am able to return the favour. I have issued Bacura a challenge, and I know he will accept, for he wants my millennium ring. Soon, we shall see who will emerge victorious.'

Unlocking his powers, he patiently waited for Bacura's arrival.

A few minutes later, Bacura made his grand entrance.

"I have been waiting for you, Thief King." Mahad called out, surrounded by a purple aura. "Let's duel."

TBC


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _Previously on Uncrowned Queen_

 _Standing on a narrow ledge Mahad continued his thoughts: 'You have saved me before, my Pharaoh. And now, at last, I am able to return the favour. I have issued Bacura a challenge, and I know he will accept, for he wants my millennium ring. Soon, we shall see who will emerge victorious.'_

" _I have been waiting for you, Thief King." Mahad called out, surrounded by a purple aura. "Let's duel."_

 _On with the story_

(While Mahad had been making plans to lure Bacura and the Yugi-gang were making plans on finding either the Pharaoh's or the Daughter's name, Seto and Aknadin were in the tablet shrine, making plans)

"Any word on Bacura?" Aknadin asked Seto.

"With an entire squadron with guards on his trail, he will not get far." Seto said cockily.

"Really?" Aknadin asked sarcastically, "After seeing his frightening display of power of the other day, I disagree." he said and turned to look at the emblems of the Egyptian gods on the wall before continuing, "Listen, Seto, we're not dealing with an ordinary thief. He's harbouring a creature with strength that rivals that of the Egyptian gods!"

"Master Aknadin, you have just given me an idea." Seto stated, gaining the elder man's full attention. "This tablet sanctuary is full of creatures we've pulled from the hearts of criminals. Surely there must be other evildoers that must be harbouring as much darkness as this Bacura, wouldn't you say?" he asked, slyly. "I would."

Gasping, Aknadin started thinking about what Bacura spouted in the throneroom.

 _Flashback_

" _Your king wanted power. That is why he had devised a plan to use the seven millennium items to control the entire world." the Thief King sneered. "The secret lies in Kul Elna!"_

 _End Flashback_

'Perhaps Bacura escaped from that village before it was destroyed.' Aknadin thought aghast. 'That would explain the incredible power of the beast that dwells within him. For his anger and hatred would be immeasurable!'

"All we need to do," Seto started, smirking slyly "is find these criminals. Then, we can simply use the millennium item to harness the creatures that dwell within their hearts. Yes," he mused out loud, "then we'll have an unstoppable army of shadow monsters."

"Seto," Aknadin admonished the man, his voice laced with shock, "what you're suggesting is completely immoral! Not to mention quite dangerous."

"With all due respect, Master," Seto countered, "would we not be reducing the amount of law-break that wreaks havoc on this kingdom every day?"

"Perhaps." Aknadin admitted grudgingly.

"And in the end, we would be creating this monster army to protect the people of Egypt." Seto stated, before asking: "Is that not what we all promised the day we took our oaths as the sacred guardians of the pharaoh?"

 _Sceneswitch_

(With Mahad)

At the beginning of the battle, Mahad's victory was evident, but as the battle lengthened and Diabound grew stronger, Mahad's strength started to waver and Mahad was growing fatigued at a very fast pace.

'My only hope is to overpower him soon.' Mahad thought as Illusion Magician descended next to him. 'I refuse to allow Bacura to threaten the people! Even if it means depleting my own powers, I must stop him, in the name of the Pharaoh.'

 _Sceneswitch_

(Meanwhile, with the Pharaoh)

Standing at his personal balcony, Yami wondered what danger he sensed to cause him to wake up. The thought had barely left his mind when Mahad's tablet shrine started to flicker.

"Mahad's tablet shrine is activating! Could it be that he is engaged in a shadow duel?" he asked himself.

Hurrying out of his chambers and down the hallway, he saw Yugi, Tristan and Joey also in the hallway.

"Yo! Pharaoh! What's with the pyramid-like thing doing the light-show?" Joey asked, combing his bedridden hair with his fingers."

"I think one of my sacred guards is in trouble. He left for the magician training grounds yesterday and has not come back yet."

"Well then, Pharaoh, how do you feel about a little road trip?" Tristan asked.

Yami was about to answer but was cut off by Seto's strong voice: "My pharaoh, if you are planning on going to aid Mahad, please allow us to accompany you."

"Very well. Ready the horses!" Yami ordered.

(Meanwhile, with Isis)

Sitting at the fire-pit, Isis has finally broken through the darkness that has clouded her vision.

"Mahad! No!" she said sadly as tears started to cloud her vision.

 _(Sceneswitch)_

(With Mahad)

Gasping for breath on his knees, Mahad stared at Bacura. 'What was I thinking? How could I be so naïve to think that I can defeat him alone?' he thought.

"Looks to me like you could use some rest." Bacura taunted the tired priest. "Why don't you and I make a little deal: bring the millennium ring to me and I will spare you! Stay and fight and I will see that your soul is removed from this world, permanently!"

 _(Scene and timeswitch)_

 _(With Mana)_

(Mana P.O.V.)

While my pillow was "sleeping" for me, I had slipped out of the palace and come to the old training fields, because I wanted to see if I could twink the seal that held my extra power so that I wouldn't feel so drained when the extra power left me again after a possible future emergency. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to alter its affects.'

Disappointed, I turned around and started to walk to the upper levels of the training fields, lost in my thoughts. I recalled when I asked the Egyptian gods about the seal's natural release. Their answer, though, wasn't very promising.

 _Flashback_

' _It occurred before I fought the black lizard the first time.'_

" _Gods of Egypt, forgive me for my impatience, but when will my sealed powers be released? Will I be able to use it in this coming battle?" I asked them._

" _No, Mana, your power will not be released naturally for the coming battle with the snake. Also, you are not to forcefully release the seal. You must find another way to deafeat your opponent." Slifer answered sternly._

" _I understand. But when will the seal be released?" I asked carefully, not wanting to anger the gods._

" _It will only be released when the Pharaoh has solved the riddle. Have patience, Mana." Ra said encouragingly._

 _End Flashback_

The pharaoh and Mahad went to see the riddle, but it seems that they have hit a dead end… 'I wonder if I could give them any subtle hints? Maybe that could work, but I will have to-' but my train of thought was cut off by a huge explosion.

Looking up, I saw Mahad and Bacura in a duel. 'Something tells me that Valkyria is going to be needed soon. I had better summon Dark Magician Girl.'

 _Sceneswitch_

(3rd person P.O.V.)

Valkyria had appeared just in time to jump into action, or fly as swiftly as she could to catch the millennium ring before Bacura got his greedy hands on it, for Mahad had separated himself from his ring in order to merge with his Illusion Magician.

'That fool! Does he not realize that being separated from his ring is exactly what that thief want?' were the words that rang through the female magician's mind.

Deciding to keep the ring safe, Valkyria retreated in the shadows, mentally preparing the mother of all lectures for when the time comes of separating Mahad from his new persona: Dark Magician.

"Where is the ring? I could have sworn it was flung this way. Could it have fallen to a lower level of the training grounds? If so, I better go find it before the Pharaoh and his meddlesome friends come to look for their precious magician" Bacura mused as he stood back from the edge of the ledge and started walking to the side of his once enemy stood when he heard a voice which caused him to freeze in his tracks.

"Bacura," a hollow voice started, "you are treading down a dangerous path." A figure clad in purple called out.

"Illusion Magician?! It can't be!" Bacura cried out in disbelief. "I've already destroyed you!" Taking a closer look at his opponent, he realized that his enemy was none other than: "Mahad!"

"What sort of cheap magician's trick are you playing on me!" Bacura demanded, shock clearly written all over his face.

"It is no trick." Mahad answered calmly. "I used my remaining power to merge together with my Illusion Magician and defeat you." Raising his staff at his enemy he called out his farewell.

Bacura, however, was determined not to be defeated that easily and addressed his Diabound: "Diabound, finish him off with your helical shockwave!"

With one attack, Mahad easily overpowered Bacura's monster, but he had forgotten that the old magician training grounds was not as sturdy as it once was.

"And then he calls **me** the reckless one." Valkyria (Mana) mutters to herself as she quietly follows her once-master to the exit.

As Mahad was about to exit the tunnel, she saw a tablet falling. 'That man is too tired- at this rate, the tablet will fall on him and seal him!' she thought.

 _Sceneswitch_

As they waited for the dust to settle, everyone waited to see what would be imprinted on the tablet. Upon seeing that it was still blank, they heaved a sigh, not knowing whether it was out of relief or disappointment, when an "oomph!" from behind them reached their ears.

Swiftly turning around, everyone was shocked to see a purple-clad figure slowly standing up.

"Hey, Yug, isn't that-?" Joey started, not sure whether his eyes are failing him.

"Dark Magician?" Yugi continued where Joey left off. "Yeah, and the other one is my Magician's Valkyria."

Valkyria walked up to Dark Magician.

"Thank you for sav-" Mahad started when he felt a sudden pain bloom in his jaw, throwing him to the ground. Looking up, his eyes grew the size of saucers when he saw his Illusion Magician, with a mirror image of his face, standing in front of him, arms crossed lightly. Looking down, his mouth fell open when he saw that he was back in his original robes and the millennium ring was once again hanging around his neck.

"Hey, Joey, how many glasses of wine did I drink at dinner last night? I'm suddenly seeing double." Tristan asked.

"If you're seeing double because you drank too much, then I must have drunk too much as well because I'm seeing double too." Joey answered wiping his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Facing the Pharaoh, Valkyria said in a voice that will not take no for an answer: "From now on out, you who carry millennium items are to travel in pairs of two whenever you leave the palace. Bacura's powers are not to be taken lightly."

Turning to the duel monster, Valkaria said "Illusion Magician is no more; from now on out, you are to be known as Dark Magician, the Pharaoh's favourite monster." Silently the magician nodded in acknowledgement.

Just then, Isis arrived. Getting off the horse, she ran forward, only to freeze in her tracks when she saw that the necklace's prophecy had not come to be. Flying into Mahad's arms, she could not stop her tears from flowing freely.

"Oh great, Mahad, you have gone through all this trouble to stop Bacura and what do you have to show? A double in a purple dress and no Bacura." Seto sneered sarcastically.

"I see you have still not lost that cockiness of yours, Priest." Valkyria said icily. "I will not warn you a third time; get that attitude of yours in check or the woman of your heart will die by your hands."

Walking away from the group, Valkyria came to a stop, her back still facing them. "You, with the ring," she started, gaining Mahad's attention, "if you even consider doing something as reckless as that **ever** again, I will personally escort you to the Shadow Realm. Are we clear?" she demanded.

Upon Mahad's silence, Valkyria swirled around and shouted "ARE WE CLEAR?!" with such a venomous voice it would have caused the weak of heart's knees to buckle.

Upon receiving Mahad's stupefied nod, Valkyria turned and walked away, disappearing into thin air.

"Wow," Joey whispered to Yugi, "Valkyria's anger was up to par with Mana's when she exploded at Rebecca the other day." earning a silent nod from his friend, completely unaware that their royal friend heard his comment.

TBC


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _Previously_

 _Facing the Pharaoh, Valkyria said in a voice that will not take no for an answer: "From now on out, you who carry millennium items are to travel in pairs of two whenever you leave the palace. Bacura's powers are not to be taken lightly."_

 _Turning to the duel monster, Valkaria said "Illusion Magician is no more; from now on out, you are to be known as Dark Magician, the Pharaoh's favourite monster." Silently the magician nodded in acknowledgement._

 _On with the story_

A few hours later Mai and Teá, who woke up due to the commotion were told of the events of the previous night. Both were shocked when they heard how Valkyria was able to separate Dark Magician from Mahad, saving his life.

Once they reached the throne room, and Yami sat down on his throne, Mahad, who had silently been watching Isis, decided to voice his concern.

"Isis, is something wrong? You are not yourself this morning."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to be rude." the priestess apologised, "I am merely concerned, for the events of last night are not what my millennium necklace has shown me. It is as if someone has intervened with fate."

"Is that possible?" Karim asked Isis.

Yami had not listened to the answer, because what Isis told them got him thinking, 'Now that she mentions it, I've been wondering the same thing. The dreams and visions I had showed that Mana died fighting Dartz's monstrosity and Mahad crying at her tablet. Could these visions have been wrong? Or is someone intervening, causing history to change?' Taking out his blank cartouche, he resumed his thoughts, 'No matter what happens though, I have to make sure that Yugi and my friends are safe, and if that means sending them to the tomb so that they can find my name, then so be it.'

"It does not matter whether the necklace can tell the future or not. All that matters is that we do everything we can to stop Bacura." Seto ended the argument between the priests.

"I agree with Seto," Yami said, "and that is why I want you, Mahad, to take Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Teá and Mai to my tomb in the valley of Kings tomorrow morning, so that they can fulfil a quest for me."

"My king? Why do you-"

"Oh no you don't!" Mai cut the magician off. "I'm not leaving Mana here alone! If she stays, I stay. Her health is only starting to improve. If I leave now, something might happen to her and all our efforts of keeping her calm and cool goes to waste!" she ranted. "If you want to send another woman, send the Ishtar girl's lookalike with; it seems as though some fresh air will do her some good." she said calmly.

"How dare you cut off our Pharaoh like that!" demanded Aknadin. "You are forgetting your place, woman!"

"It is alright, Aknadin. Mai has been in charge of Mana's health ever since the Oricál incident. It would not be wise to separate the patient from its healer. You may stay Mai, but the rest of you will be leaving tomorrow morning. And, Isis, I want you to go with them, just in case something happens." Yami said in an authoritive voice. 'Hopefully Yugi will be able to find my name.'

"Very well, Pharaoh, I shall do as you say." Mahad said obediently.

"Good. There are still a few hours before sunrise. I think we better use it to our advantage and get some rest. Good night." Yami said, dismissing them.

 _Timeswitch_

A few hours later, Yami and the priests were again found in the throneroom, trying to make some kind of plan to stop Bacura and bring him to his knees.

"Pharaoh with all due respect," Seto started, "time is of the essence. Please allow me to lead the hunt for Bacura. I already have a plan in place." Ignoring Aknadin's startled gasp, he continued, "To start, all gateways to and from the kingdom must be sealed to keep him in. Next, every citizen must be carefully observed since no one can be trusted."

"He is right." Shimon stressed to the young pharaoh. "Until we have more information, everyone is a suspect."

Grudgingly, Yami gave them the go-ahead and dismissed them all. Everyone, including the Yugi-gang left, save for Mahad.

"Is something the matter, Mahad?" Yami asked his magician and stood up from his throne, aiming for the halls that would lead him to the inner courtyard.

"Actually, Pharaoh, yes, but it has nothing to do with Bacura." Mahad admitted.

"What is it, then?" Yami asked, glancing to his friend over his shoulder, his curiosity peaked.

"It is Mana, Pharaoh. I am worried about her. The battle with the snake was quite some time ago, and still, she has not reverted to her usual cheerful self. Also, it seems that she is avoiding me. I am shocked to admit, but I miss her smiles, that mischievous glim in her eyes and her pranks. And as her master, I am stupefied to admit that I even miss her miscasts! I was wondering if she might have told you what is vexing her so since you are such good friends?" The magician-master admitted while gently trying to pry the answer from the young ruler.

"To tell you the truth, my friend, the last time I have seen Mana was when she ran away from the soldiers. It seems that she is avoiding me as well, but I do not know why. I am afraid I cannot help you this time." Yami admitted reluctantly, once again cursing his lost memories for failing him. 'She said we were childhood friends. What could have happened to drive such a wedge between us?'

"Maybe, we should just wait? Maybe Mana is feeling the pressure and urgency in all of us millennium bearers and has decided to avoid us in an effort to help us." Mahad suggested hopefully.

"Maybe you are correct, Mahad." Yami said but silently thought: 'However, I do not believe that is the case.'

 _Sceneswitch_

Seto and Shada had set out on Seto's quest to build the army.

"Seto, do you believe that Bacura is still amongst us?" Shada asked quietly.

"Of course." Seto confidently answered. "He controls a monster with powers equal to an Egyptian God. You saw that for yourself, did you not?"

Gasping, Shada turned as Seto continued, "Mahad was a fool to face him. And that is why his spirit was almost sealed into a stone tablet, had it not been for that messenger-girl's help. He might still be alive because of her quick wit, but right now, he is powerless and of no use to us."

"Then what should we do?" Shada inquired urgently.

"We must strengthen our own army of shadow creatures and take him down. We shall accomplish this by extracting these beasts of darkness from the Egyptian people at once!" Seto said influentially.

Horrified, Shada started: "Seto! Are you suggesting we punish the innocent? What would the pharaoh say about that?!"

"Shada," Seto rebuked, "the very reason I am doing this is to protect the pharaoh and the citizens of Egypt."

Frowning in disagreement, Shada relented.

Jumping from his litter, Seto turned to Shada and said: "And no, I am not targeting the innocent. It is the potential criminals that I shall be seeking out and punishing."

And so the search started for any might-be criminal. Potential criminal after potential criminal was dragged before the priests to be judged until a commotion caught the priests' attention.

Shouldering through the crowd, Seto saw a white-haired girl being stoned by the people. "What is this about?" he ordered.

Stepping forward, Shada's key lit up and showed him an enormous amount of power, the power of a white dragon."

Kneeling to catch his breath, he turned to Seto, "I have never felt such a powerful spirit before!" he said, panting heavily.

"Really?" Seto asked turning to the unconscious girl. "Wait, there is something familiar about this girl. Turning to the soldiers, he ordered them to take her to palace and give her as many food and water as she necessary before turning to the citizens and scaring them off.

 _Timeswitch_

That evening, Seto went to Aknadin's tablet shrine in search of Aknadin.

Once finding him, Seto expected his teacher to be proud of him. Aknadin, however, was anything but proud of his power-hungry pupil.

After a yelling match, Seto stormed out, shouting to his mentor that he was not ashamed of what he did, because he did it for the safety of both the pharaoh and the people of Egypt.

"Seto, wait! You are making a mistake!" Aknadin yelled, but the stubborn man ignored him.

Kneeling, Aknadin said to himself, "I should know. Not long ago, I made the same mistake myself." Frustrated he gnashed his teeth together when a sound suddenly caught his attention. Standing up, he demanded a "Who's there?" only to see his greatest nightmare.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Bacura, with a menacing grin on his face.

TBC


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 _Previously_

 _Frustrated he gnashed his teeth together when a sound suddenly caught his attention. Standing up, he demanded a "Who's there?" only to see his greatest nightmare._

 _At the bottom of the stairs stood Bacura, with a menacing grin on his face._

 _On with the story_

"Is she awake?" Seto asked the guards as he approached a room's entrance.

"No, sir. Not yet." One of the guards who were stationed at the entrance, answered dutifully.

"Very well." Seto answered as he entered the room and approached the sleeping girl. 'Her face is so familiar to me.' Seto thought as he reached down and touched the girl's face. 'Could it be the same girl I saw that day so long ago? The girl with blue eyes and white hair."

Thinking back to his teenage years, he remembered how he saved a white haired girl with blue eyes and how his village was destroyed by the same bandits who had originally taken the girl captive. He also remembered how a white dragon suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed the bandits right in front of his eyes.

'It is her! After all these years, she has returned!' Seto thought astonished.

Seto was so lost in his musings and memories, that he did not notice the signs of the white-haired beauty waking up.

Slowly blinking, the girl focused her piercing blue eyes on the face of the man standing by her side.

"Seto? Is that you?" she asked timidly.

 _Sceneswitch_

Lying on the ground, Aknadin gasped for air as he vainly struggled to remove Bacura's heel from his partially closed airway.

Laughing hatefully, Bacura said, "We meet again. Only this time, you didn't bring any of your friends to fight by your side. I, on the other hand, did."

Bacura's words had barely left his mouth, when Diabound made its grand entrance.

"You're not quite as impressive without your younger counterparts to hide behind, are you?" Bacura sneered. "I could seize your millennium eye in an instant! But I have something more amusing in mind. After all, we still have a score to settle. Perhaps you recall a little incident occurring in the village of Kul Elna a few years ago? You crushed my people and abandoned your son. A little boy named Seto!"

"Release me at once!" Aknadin ordered in a breathy voice

"From where I'm standing, it seems that you are in no position to be making demands." Bacura taunted the elder priest.

"Wrong. I have already destroyed one of your cohorts. I may not have the ring to prove it, but neither do you. The millennium ring is buried amongst the rubble of your once oh-so-famous magician training grounds and my men are searching for it as we speak."

"Then it's true!" Aknadin said, remembering what the priests who had witnessed the incident the previous night had told him and how Mahad was saved.

Misinterpreting what Aknadin meant, Bacura continued to rant: "It hurt, doesn't it, old man, to loose someone you care about? Well try losing your whole village!"

"Please," Aknadin pleaded, as Bacura removed his foot from Aknadin's throat, "if you just let me explain-"

Not caring for Aknadin's petty excuses, Bacura picked Aknadin up haphazardly and sneered while reaching for the millennium eye, "You destroyed my homeland, took away my family and left me with nothing! Now it's time to pay the price, by serving me! I know that you have a dark side, it just needs to be brought out; and I am the perfect man to do just it! Oh yes, you will be my perfect little puppet!"

 _Sceneswitch_

Startled from his musings, Yami looked at his puzzle, wondering what the cause of the darkness the puzzle had sensed, was.

"Pharaoh, a village along the Nile was attacked a few moments ago!" Shimon hurriedly informed the young ruler.

Barely registering what Shimon said, Yami's attention was suddenly caught by an explosion.

"That was one of our tablet sanctuaries!" Shimon said alarmed.

"But whose?" Yami enquired.

"Aknadin's! There is only one person capable of an act of treason like this!" Shimon started, "And that is –"

"Bacura!" Yami picked up where Shimon left off, "Look, there he is." he said pointing to the thief who was running along a ledge and shouted to his guards to go after him.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, Seto who left Kisara behind and told her to stay there, went to his master's sanctuary, but the older man just kept muttering incoherently before passing out.

Determined to catch the Thief King once and for all, Seto, Shada and Karim took Aknadin to the infirmary and raced for their horses.

 _Sceneswitch_

In her room, Mana tries to settle down so that she can go to sleep. After having been given back her wand, she had spent all day practicing spells of various difficulties. Tired to the core, Mana's body was begging her to rest, but try as she might, she just couldn't go to sleep.

Still lying on the bed, Mana felt a strange sensation and her consciousness being dragged away-not to sleep, but to the place where she is often called by the Egyptian gods, the realm between that of the human world and the dominion of the beasts.

Foregoing the usual warm greeting, the gods immediately cut to the chase.

"Mana, as you can remember, this originally was the about the same time where you woke up from your slumber after your sacrifice in the dominion of the beasts, causing you to know of everything that will come to be soon. However, this time, we have decided to intervene and therefore you are to hurry to the pharaoh's tablet shrine, because you have a traitor in your midst." Ra hurriedly informed her.

"Traitor? Who? Is he the one who—" Mana started firing questions, only to be cut off by Obelisk: "Later, Mana, later. He is on his way there now and the pharaoh has set out after the Thief King and has already summoned Slifer."

Jolting into an upright position, Mana swiftly stood up, when a sudden wave of dizziness sent her tumbling to the floor. Mai, who was present in the room, swiftly caught the girl and acted as a pillar until the brunette regained her equilibrium, gazed questioningly at the girl.

"It is pharaoh. I must help him – I need to get to the tablet shrine!" Mana explained to the blonde and bolted down the hall, with Mai shortly on her heels.

 _Sceneswitch_

After being left in the infirmary, Bacura's words kept ringing in Aknadin's mind: "I know of all of your secrets, Aknadin. I know what you did at Kul Elna! These events might have occurred 19 long years ago, but time doesn't heal all wounds!"

 _Flashback_

 _(Aknadin POV)_

' _I still remember how this all began a little more than 19 years ago: An enemy had come to Egypt, wanting to overthrow us and claim the land…_

 _Kneeling in front of Pharaoh Aknamkanon, the soldier said: "My pharaoh, we have lost our stronghold to the north and the enemy continues their march towards the capital."_

" _With our remaining armies, how long can we withstand their attack?" Pharaoh Aknamkanon asked._

 _The kneeling soldier's answer was not promising: "If everything goes well, perhaps a week."_

 _Dejectedly, Aknamkanon sighed, "Then the end has come."_

" _With all due respect," I objected, "giving up is not an option Sir. This conflict will not just decide fate of the country, but that of the entire world! If we were to allow the enemy to advance much further, they would seize our millennium spell-book!"_

" _They must not succeed." The pharaoh said sternly. "It is said, that whoever deciphers the book's ancient texts, will be able to control a power known only to the Egyptian gods themselves!"_

" _Yes," I said, "and perhaps_ _ **we**_ _can tap that power to defeat the enemy"_

" _We've been through this before, Aknadin. No one has been able to decode those spells!" the pharaoh admonished me._

 _Then I told him that I was able to decipher one of the spells, a ritual of some sorts, allowing the castor to forge seven mystical millennium items, which could bring tranquillity to Egypt. I had not, however, told him what the requirements of the ritual were, because otherwise my brother would never even had considered it._

 _After being told by the pharaoh, my brother, to continue and create the items, I had taken a few precautions- sending my wife and my son, Seto, away, and hypnotizing the soldiers who were to accompany us, being some of them._

 _That night, we set off to the village of Kul Elna, a village whose inhabitants have the darkest spirits known to man, people who have been known for raiding our royal tombs and stealing our riches for years- making them the perfect candidate for our purose._

 _Each and every citizen of Kul Elna was captured; young and old, man and woman was captured and led to be sacrificed and their spirits were used to form the seven millennium items._

 _Six of the millennium items were formed in the pit in which we made the sacrifice, but the seventh, the millennium ring, was found in the millennium stone, which suddenly emerged from the ground. Along with the millennium ring, the stone have six indents which were the precise shape of the six items we were holding in our hands._

 _Suddenly, the ring lit up and created a powerful force, throwing all of my fellow forgers into the wall with a powerful force. Gazing at my comrades in shock I wondered what terrible evil I created, when a hazy monster grabbed me, literally lifting me up in a vice grip, his sharp nails breaking the skin on my back, poisoning me with its darkness._

 _Ignoring the creature's demand of returning the millennium items to their resting place, I put the millennium eye into my left eye socket. The item reacted immediately, sealing the darkness the creature poisoned me with away. Ordering the creature to unhand me, I fell to the floor. The creature disappeared. One of my comrades ran up to me and helped me up while hurriedly stating that we must abandon that place. Hastily grabbing all the items as well as the ring, the two of us fled the underground chamber with the intention of never returning to that place._

 _Treading through the desert was a challenge on its own: the sandstorm was severe and tiring. Sein, my companion (A.N. check episode 206 subbed) was too tired and became another victim of the desert, leaving me as the sole keeper of the Kul Elna secret._

 _Six pieces were given to the priests and my brother took the seventh item, the millennium puzzle. The enemies came right up to us, thinking that we have given up, luring them into a false sense of security. With our newly acquired power of being able to control shadow creatures, we were victorious and no other enemy had ever dared approach us again._

 _I shall never forget that day- it was both my greatest achievement and my darkest hour._ _ **My**_ _efforts had saved Egypt from destruction, but I deserted my family to do so and my only son, Seto would never know of his noble ancestry._

 _And then, one day, there he was, kneeling in front of my brother as a newly appointed priest and guardian of the millennium rod to work by the young prince's side. My son, who I have stripped of his royal heritage, had overcome every obstacle thrown his way and had risen to greatness, all on his own merit. It was at that moment that I realised that it was_ _ **my**_ _son who should be pharaoh, not Aknamkanon's son! Mine!'_

 _Third Person's POV_

Standing up, Aknadin trudged out of the infirmary and thought: 'And mark my words, King he shall become!"

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Yami)_

Completely unaware of his priest's treasonous thoughts, Yami chases after Bacura through the village with Slifer flying above him.

After being hurt by Diabound's blow on Slifer, Bacura hollers mockingly at Yami, "Diabound steals the abilities of the enemies it defeats! That last attack came courtesy of Mahad!"

'That can't be!' Yami thought to himself, 'Mahad is alive! How is it that Diabound was able to use that attack? Could it be that Valkyria's interference prevented Mahad from being killed? Is that what Isis had seen- Mahad dying and Dark Magician staying behind?'

Pushing his thoughts aside for a later time, Yami orders Slifer to attack, only to discover that Slifer's attack missed and that Diabound was emerging from the ground where he had been hiding, ready to attack the pharaoh again. Luckily, Slifer had intercepted and dealt Diabound a deathly blow.

"No! You'll pay for that!" Bacura shouted, gasping.

"You have forgotten who you're dealing with!" Yami shouted.

"And you have forgotten that this battle isn't one of your little card tournaments, Pharaoh!" Bacura retorted, "And as you're about to find out, in this arena, **I** have the advantage! Diabound, destroy the city!"

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Mana and Mai)_

Hiding behind a pillar, Mai whispered, "Mana, what are we doing here?"

"One of Pharaoh's priests have turned traitor, but I do not know who." Mana answered, "When he comes, I plan to confront him, and thus help the pharaoh by preventing the traitor to sabotage the tablets."

"What can I do to help?" Mai asked, realising that the young woman could not be deterred.

"You need to hide here, and no matter what happens, do not come out of your hiding place until I either call for you or the traitor has left the shrine. Promise me, Mai!" Mana answered, gaining a nod from the now serious blonde.

After waiting for a while, they heard footsteps echo in the shrine.

Taking a deep breath, Mana whispers "The moment of truth has arrived." and leaves the safety of her hiding place to confront the friend turned enemy.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _Previously on Uncrowned Queen_

" _You need to hide here, and no matter what happens, do not come out of your hiding place until I either call for you or the traitor has left the shrine. Promise me, Mai!" Mana answered, gaining a nod from the now serious blonde._

 _After waiting for a while, they heard footsteps echo in the shrine._

 _Taking a deep breath, Mana whispers "The moment of truth has arrived." and leaves the safety of her hiding place to confront the friend turned enemy._

 _Now, On with the Story_

 _With Yugi and the rest of the gang_

Having followed and caught up with the pharaoh and the other priests, save for Mahad and Isis, Yugi swiftly jumped off his horse and ran to aid his friend who fell from his horse due to the exhaustion of having Slifer first protect the villagers and then having lost Slifer to a hidden Diabound's unexpected attack

Opening his eyes, the pharaoh focused on Yugi and said "Yugi, you shouldn't be here. It is much too dangerous."

Picking up Yami's hand, Yugi said with encouragement in his voice, "We've come too far to turn back now, Pharaoh. You and I are a team, remember?"

'I have forgotten how strong my bond with Yugi truly is; I can feel my energy returning.' Yami thought. Determined, Yami stood up jumped on his horse and summon Ra.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ravine, Bacura was flabbergasted to see Yugi, Joey, Teá, and Tristan surrounding the pharaoh. "Impossible! How were those meddlesome four brats able to infiltrate this realm?"

Watching in awe as Ra appeared from the heavens and being blinded by its brightness, Bacura almost fell from his horse. Horrified, he realised that his Diabound was no longer hidden in the darkness of the night.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Mana)_

Standing in the middle of the raised podium, Aknadin drew his dagger and aimed for Ra, fully intent on harming the pharaoh's monster, thus weakening the pharaoh and leaving him an open target for Bacura's Diabound. Throwing it, Aknadin's smirk swiftly fell when the dagger froze mid-air and harmlessly clattered on the floor.

"What do you think you are doing?" he heard a voice ask him, instantly recognizing it as Mana's. Climbing up the final few steps, Mana took her post directly in front of him and continued, "I knew someone was going to betray the pharaoh, but I never thought that it would be you, Master Aknadin. Did you really think you can get away from not only betraying the pharaoh and your fellow priests, but also committing treason against the gods of Egypt as well?"

"What are you doing here, you meddling little pest?" Aknadin sneered.

"Meddling." Mana answered calmly, shrugging her shoulders as if it is the most obvious answer imaginable.

"I should have taken the duty of capturing you into my own hands instead of leaving you to the soldier's mercy." Aknadin sneered venomously.

"And I should not have trusted you." Mana retorted heatedly and smirked, "But having been able to prevent you from hurting the pharaoh is satisfying enough. Now, until Pharaoh is back, I am going to lock you up in one of the dungeons. I am not going to take the chance of locking you up in your chambers; who knows what you might be capable of in your own domain. Start walking and do not even think of trying to do something stupid."

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Yami)_

(A.N. Takes place at the exact time as the events in the pharaoh's tablet shrine)

Watching Ra's descend from the skies, Bacura's mind was running a mile a minute. 'This doesn't make any sense! The pharaoh was rendered powerless when I destroyed Slifer while it was protecting the villagers. So where did he gather the strength to call upon yet another Egyptian god?'

Looking down at the pharaoh, he saw that Yugi, Joey, Teá and Tristan were all standing by the pharaoh's side, as if they were offering him their support by just being present.

Suddenly, as if the "puzzle pieces" were falling into place, Bacura thought, 'Unless this has something to do with those meddling kids! Did reuniting with his former host somehow restore the pharaoh's life-force?'

Upon seeing Diabound cowering away from Ra's brightness, Karim said urgently: "Without the darkness, his Diabound has no way of concealing itself – let us attack now!"

Grimacing, Bacura shouted, "Can't you fools see that thanks to the pharaoh, I wield the power of an Egyptian god as well! Diabound, thunderforce attack!"

Diabound released its attack, heading straight at Ra. Swiftly, Seto had his Duos intercept the attack, shielding Ra from any harm.

Having deflected the enemy's attack, Seto shouted, "Pharaoh, now is your chance!"

Upon hearing those words, Yami immediately sprang into action and lifted his diadhank. "Great Deity of the sun," He shouted, "I ask thee to transform thyself! And burn through the shadows with your firery rage!"

Transforming into a great firebird, a magnificent phoenix of pure fire, it flew high up in the sky, before turning and taking a sharp dive, its sights set on Diabound. Upon contact, Ra flew right through its enemy, like a hot knife through butter, sending Bacura toppling from his horse in excruciating pain of having to lose so much life-force at Diabound's defeat.

"Justice is served!" Seto shouted triumphantly. "The darkness is no more!"

'I hope you're right.' Yami thought to himself.

 _Sceneswitch_

Lying on the ground, Bacura still could not believe that his arch nemesis was able to defeat him so easily.

'It's all because of those little brats', especially the former host's fault. If it were not for their meddling and interfering in other people's business, the pharaoh would not have been able to defeat me! I would have won and the millennium puzzle would have been mine! I will not allow it! I will not allow it to end like this!' the Thief-king thought and recited a spell to turn the odds into his favour: 'Hands of time, reverse thyself, so that I may alter the past!'

The words had barely left the thief's mouth when time started flowing backwards. Diabound wasn't destroyed, Ra disappeared, Yugi and the rest of the gang were swept away by an impossibly strong gust of wind and yet, Bacura didn't relent. He still had time reverse up to the point before Slifer was destroyed by Diabound's attack. Finally, Bacura was satisfied and let the time flow resume itself.

Sceneswitch

(with Mana)

'What happened?' Mana wondered as she looked at her surroundings. 'I have this strange feeling that this already happened.'

Standing on the last step, she pondered for a while before realization struck her. 'Someone has turned back time and now it is replaying itself! That means that Aknadin and the dagger- THE DAGGER!'

Looking up, Mana saw the dagger flying straight at Slifer.

"NOOO-OO-OO!" The young girl screamed and flung herself in front of the dagger in an effort to save the gods and thus the pharaoh. Time slowed as Mana moved in front of the dagger and felt the dagger bury itself up to the hilt into her chest.

Having her wind knocked out of her Mana fell to the floor and felt how the blood seeped from her wound, staining her clothes in crimson red.

High above her, towering at the top of the podium, she heard Aknadin's laugh, his voice taunting her: "I might not have been able to finish off the pharaoh, but I think finishing you off will suffice. Farewell, Mana, I should say that it's been nice knowing you, but I would be lying!" Taking one last glance of the girl, Aknadin turned and hurried out of the shrine, oblivious of the fact that Mai has witnessed it all.

 _Sceneswitch_

Yami quickly tried to regain his bearings from the effect of the time reversal had left on his body. He was still too disoriented to react when Diabound's hidden attack came for Slifer a second time. But what he saw had left him stupefied -just before Diabound's attack hit Slifer, Slifer opened its mouth (the big one) and sent an all-powerful blast straight at Diabound's attack, easily overpowering it. Yami barely had time to ponder at what had just happened when Slifer roared furiously and sent another attack directly at Bacura.

Jumping of his horse and diving out of the attacks way, the shocked Bacura stood up and said: "That wasn't supposed to happen! Diabound should have destroyed Slifer just now!"

"Well it seems that whatever divine being intervened, has turned the odds to my favour, meaning I can now do this: Hear my call, Winged Dragon of Ra and show us where Bacura's monster is hiding!" Yami shouted.

Instantly a roaring Ra appeared, illuminating everything, leaving nothing hidden from its bright rays, revealing Diabound from its hiding place and rendering it powerless.

Yami was about to tell Ra what to do, but Ra had already flew straight up in the air, consuming itself in flames, and plunged at Diabound, this time leaving Diabound even more damaged than the first time.

Yugi, Teá, Tristan and Joey, who had again run up to their ruler friend, all stood with their jaws dropped, unable to believe what they had just seen: the gods of Egypt had attacked Bacura and Diabound out of their own free will as if they were taking vengeance for something!

"Well done, my Pharaoh. Bacura has been defeated and shall no longer be of any threat to us. Guards, take this man to the deepest, darkest pit we call a dungeon, and throw away the key!" said Seto.

The guards had just tied Bacura up with rope when they heard a desperate voice: "Pharaoh!"

Turning around, Yami saw Dark Magician Girl flying at him at a neck-breaking speed. Immediately, Seto and Karim took their posts in front of Yami, fully intent of protecting him if protection is needed.

"You need not be alarmed of her, Seto, Karim. She is Mana's soulspirit. Rather make sure that Bacura is tied up tightly and make sure that he does not escape." Yami told his priests. Turning to Dark Magician Girl, he continued, "What seems to be the trouble, Dark Magician Girl?"

"My pharaoh, you must hurry! Mistress Mana has been hurt badly!"

"What? What happened?" Yami demanded urgently.

"Never mind that now. You must go to her! She needs you!" The blonde answered, borderline hysteria.

"Where is she?" Yami asked.

"In your tablet shrine! She is dying, Pharaoh! Hurry! HURRY!" she answered, fading away, no longer able to stay in the human world on her own power.

"Seto, Karim, I must go! Can you take of Bacura for me? Also, is there a way you can alert the others back at the palace of what has happened?" Yami asked hurriedly.

"Consider it done, my pharaoh!" Karim answered.

"I'm coming with ya!" Joey said, already sitting on a horse. "If Mana is hurt, Mai may be hurt as well."

Nodding, the two sat off for the tablet shrine

"You!" Tristan shouted and punched Bacura in the face, ignoring a fleeting pain.

"Somehow, I just know you are responsible! What did you do?" he shouted at Bacura, lifting him into the air menacingly.

"Let him go, Tristan." Teá commanded her friend. "We need to hurry up and go help the others instead of wasting valuable time."

"Your lady-friend is right." Karim said, "Let us head back."

No one was aware of Bacura subtle smirk as they trekked back to the palace.

 _Scene and Timeswitch_

As he walked down the halls to the infirmary, Yami could not help remember what he saw when he finally reached Mana in the shrine.

 _Flashback_

 _Running into the shrine, he looked around for Mana. When he finally saw her, he ran up to her and kneeled at her side. Instantly seeing the offending dagger that has penetrated Mana's body, he instinctively reached over to pull it out, when a sharp voice stopped him._

" _Don't you dare pull that dagger out, Pharaoh. Right now, that thing is acting like a plug. If you pull it out, she will bleed out in a matter of minutes." Mai's voice cut through the air, dropping a sturdy piece of wood as she walked up to her friends._

" _Mai! There you are. Are you all right? What happened?" Joey released a relieved sigh._

" _I'll explain later. Right now, we need to act fast! We need to get her stable enough to move her to the infirmary. The dagger had barely missed her heart."_

" _Maybe I can be of assistance?"_

 _Turning around, they saw Mahad swiftly joining the group. Kneeling at the girl's side, he looked up at the Pharaoh and said: "Isis' necklace showed her something and she told me to come here with haste."_

" _Great! Listen, I need you to levitate her or create a stretcher and get her to the infirmary as soon as possible. The dagger must be removed as soon as possible and then the bleeding must be stopped."_

 _Once they reached the infirmary, Mahad suggested to use a spell to heal up the wound. Mai had agreed only because Mana had lost too much blood in the shrine and on their way to the infirmary. Mai had been told that although, the wound would be healed in a matter of minutes, the body might still suffer from shock and Mana may still have a fever._

 _End Flashback_

'Yugi and the others will leave at sunrise for the Valley of Kings so that they can try and find my name. We might have stopped Bacura, but my memories had not been recovered yet, meaning that there is still more to come.' Yami thought to himself.

Reaching Mana's room, he heard Mana's screams and cries on the other side of the door. Worried, he knocked on the door and waited. Mai opened the door.

"How is she, Mai?" he asked.

"She has high fever, which is making delusional and very confused. We were not able to break the fever yet, but I gave her something that should help. We're just waiting for it to take effect."

"Can I see her?" he asked, wanting to see his friend.

"I don't think that is such a go-" Mai started but was cut off by Mana screaming: "Pharaoh!"

Out of instinct, Yami sidestepped Mai and rushed into the room, ignoring Isis' protests, he went straight to Mana.

Once reaching her, he heard her chanting: "No, don't, Pharaoh, don't –don't betray me! Not again! Not again! Don't betray me, please! Don't, no don't –don't betray me!"

Carefully sitting by her side on the bed, he tenderly pushed her sweat drenched bangs behind her ear and took her hand in his.

"I will **never** betray you, Mana, never, I promise." he told her in an effort to calm her.

Her whispered answer, though, sent his own heart in turmoil: "But you already did. Why? Why did you betray me, Pharaoh? Why?"

 _Sceneswitch_

Sitting with his back to the door in his dark, damp dungeon cell, Bacura laid on the bunk, patiently waiting. He did not have to wait too long though, before he heard the sound of a lock turning and a door opening.

Standing up, he turned around, saying with a smirk, "Have you come to help your master, my second little pawn?"

At the door stood a blank-faced Tristan.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 _Previously_

" _I will_ _ **never**_ _betray you, Mana, never, I promise." he told her in an effort to calm her._

 _Her whispered answer, though, sent his heart in turmoil: "But you already did. Why? Why did you betray me, Pharaoh? Why?"_

 _Sitting with his back to the door in his dark, damp dungeon cell, Bacura laid on the bunk, patiently waiting. He did not have to wait too long though, before he heard the sound of a lock turning and a door opening._

 _Standing up, he turned around, saying with a smirk "Have you come to help your master, my second little pawn?"_

 _At the door stood a blank-faced Tristan._

 _On with the Story_

A few hours has passed and Yami hadn't left Mana's side even once. Having broken her fever, she was now lost to a deep sleep.

Exhaustion was also claiming Yami and he was quickly losing his consciousness to a peaceful, yet dreamful sleep.

 _-Yami's Dream-_

 _Barging into his father's study, the first words that left his mouth were: "You have to stop her!"_

 _Stupefied about his son's outburst, Pharaoh Aknamkanon watched his son pace around, blabbering._

" _Wha-" he started, trying to make sense what the prince was talking about._

" _What if a scorpion stings her or a snake bites her?!"_

" _What are you talking ab-" Aknamkanon started._

" _What if she is caught by bandits and they hurt her or sell her as a slave to people with lesser intentions?! She's never left the palace on her own! How will she be able to protect herself?!"_

" _Who is sh-" Aknamkanon started yet again, slowly losing his patience._

" _What if she gets lost in the desert?! What is she is caught in quicksand?! What if-"_

" _SON!" Aknamkanon bellowed, startling the young prince. "Take a deep breath." he said and waited until his son had done so. "Now, slowly breathe out." he commanded and told the prince to do it again._

 _Once the prince was finally calm, the pharaoh asked, "Now, will you tell me what has upset you so much? Who are you going on about so badly that you had to cut me off so many times?"_

 _"It is Mana, Father." The prince answered, slightly embarrassed about his behaviour earlier._

" _What about Mana, Son?" Aknamkanon asked._

" _She had just told me that she is considering leaving the palace." and muttered something that sounded like "leave me" under his breath._

" _Why?" the shocked pharaoh asked._

" _She told me that Mahad told her that her magical abilities have not improved ever since he became her master and that she should consider stepping down, allowing him to take in another apprentice." The upset prince explained._

" _But you do not want her to leave." The pharaoh assumed._

" _I – I think I love her, Father." Yami admitted in a whisper, desperately fighting and failing to keep his cheeks from taking on a pink-reddish colour._

 _Smiling, the pharaoh stood up and walked to his son. Laying a hand on the prince's shoulder, he gave it an encouraging squeeze and said, "Do not worry, my son, I will take care of everything."_

 _-End Dream-_

 _Scene and Timeswitch_

The first rays of sunlight were barely breaking the horizon when Yugi and the others were saying their goodbyes. Since Mana was peacefully sleeping of the last remnants of her fever, Mai had quickly slipped away to kiss her boyfriend goodbye.

Meanwhile, in her room, Mana's subconscious had woken her to a trancelike state (like when the person's body move, but their eyes doesn't show any response.)

"The white dragon is calling me." she said, stood up, summoned her wand and wandered out of the room.

 _-Sceneswitch-_

Standing on the hanging platform her knees buckling dangerously, Kisara was mentally calling out for help. Too scared to follow the commands Aknadin screamed at her, she kept looking around, hoping beyond hope, that Seto would make an appearance and save her again.

Suddenly, she felt a strange sensation and saw a bright light. Slowly opening her eyes after the light faded and the sensation died away, she looked around, shocked to see that she was safe on a solid floor, and a strange woman was standing on the exact spot where she was standing a few seconds ago.

"Run, White Dragon! Run!" a feminine voice reached Kisara's ears. Not being one to be told twice, Kisara ran as if the hounds of hell were at her heels.

Sprinting up multiple sets of stairs, the only thought that stuck in her mind was: 'I have to find Seto! I have to get help!'

 _-Sceneswitch-_

Meanwhile, Seto was scouring the palace looking for his lady-love. 'Where on Earth could Kisara be?'

 _-Sceneswitch-_

(With Mana)

"How are you still alive? That wound should have killed you!" Aknadin shouted at Mana, but got no response from the semiconscious girl.

"It does not matter. Summon your monster and prove your worth or perish!" Aknadin sneered.

 _Sceneswitch_

Running down the halls as fast as she could, Kisara finally saw Seto's for at the other side of the hall.

"Seto!" she shouted in order to catch his attention.

Turning upon hearing his name, Seto saw Kisara running up to him. "Kisara, where have you been? Did I not tell you to stay in your room? I cannot protect you if you wander around like this." he said with a scowl.

"Never mind that now; the magician apprentice needs help! She placed herself in danger to save me!"

"That girl never could stay out of trouble." Seto sighed exasperated and addressed the white-haired maiden. "Show me, quick!"

 _-Sceneswitch-_

Upon arriving in the chamber, Seto was unable to hide the shock and disbelief from his face.

"Don't just stand there, _magician apprentice_. Don't you know the rules of combat? Now, strike down your opponent, lest you be struck down yourself!" Aknadin shouted at Mana, catching Seto's attention.

Thinking to himself that his master had gone insane, he left the stunned Kisara by the door and approached his sitting master's, who was acting as if he was doing nothing wrong, side, demanding an explanation.

"Don't be so shocked, Seto. I am merely executing your idea. I am just using a simple method that will increase the monster's power by promising them that they will not be killed for their crimes." Aknadin said confidently.

"What?!" Seto asked, repulsed.

"Yes, as their rage increases, so does the strength of the beast that dwells within their hearts. The strongest survives and the rest is lost to the shadow realm. Once we have found the strongest monsters, and build the monster army." Aknadin explained to Seto as he watched the creatures around Mana take each other down.

"No, Master! You have to stop this." Seto pleaded.

"Seto, look!" He heard Kisara calling out to him. Turning away from Aknadin, Seto's eyes widened as he saw a wormlike creature's size double in mere seconds, yet it got no reaction from the semi-conscious Mana.

"Mana, move!" Seto shouted, but Mana still remained like a statue.

"Listen, Seto, Egypt's is in a very delicate situation right now. Don't you think it's time to make the necessary provisions?" Aknadin hinted at Seto.

"Make necessary provisions for what?" the baffled Seto asked his master.

"This is no time to be stupid, Seto. The pharaoh and all the other priests are spending a countless amount of time doing research on that so-called prophecy. Meanwhile, the time has come to call a new Pharoah to the throne; someone who can save us from the upcoming danger. Someone like you, Seto. But you cannot leave this empire alone- you will need an army of powerful creatures who's might rival that of the Egyptian gods themselves! And that, is exactly what I am doing for you." the sudden power-hungry priest told his student.

'Master Aknadin really has gone mad!' Seto thought to himself. 'Does he not realize that-' but his chain of thought was cut off when he heard Kisara's startled cry as a soldier grabbed her and threw her on the same platform Mana was standing on.

"Kisara!" Seto shouted, ran and jumped onto the platform. "You and Mana stay behind me; I will not let them hurt you."

"Seto, get back here." Aknadin yelled at his student, but his student ignored him, called his Duos to battle, and had him cut the chains of his opponents' platforms. Unfortunately, Duos did his job a little too well and also cut the chains of his master's own platform sending his master and the two woman also down the bottomless pit.

"Seto!" Aknadin yelled and ran to the edge of the pit. To the old priest's relief, Seto had grabbed one of the chains just in time, with both Kiara and Mana hanging from one hand

"Seto!" Aknadin shouted anxiously, "What have you done?!"

Hanging on the chain with one hand and holding onto Kisara, who held onto Mana, with the other, Seto could feel how Kisara was slowly slipping from his grip.

"Hang on to me with all your might, Kisara!" Seto told Kisara.

"It's no use!" a voice came from above Seto's head. Looking up, Seto saw a man with a caterpillar-like creature. "I'm afraid that I have been saved from the shadows thanks to my creature. You, however, won't be so lucky as it's all tangled up at the moment."

And the caterpillar's owner was right; Duos was stuck in the creature's spinned thread, completely unable to come to its master's aid.

"Prepare yourself, my beast, for its feeding time." The man said with a malicious grin. Hearing his master's command, the caterpillar moved in for the kill.

Suddenly, something unbelievable happened: Kisara's whole form lit up and suddenly, upon her call a great white dragon appeared, roaring furiously.

"That's it!" Seto thought "That's the creature I saw when I was a child!"

Roaring again, Seto almost let go of the chain when he saw Mana's form suddenly lighting up as well and Dark Magician Girl making her appearance. Dressed in soldier's armour (like when she rode Timeous), Dark Magician Girl sat on the dragon directly behind its head. Again, the great dragon roared, announcing that the dragon-rider duo were ready to obey their masters' command.

"No! It's the white dragon with the blue eyes and the blonde-haired sorceress, but I thought both were just myths and now, they are connected and working as one!? This cannot be happening!" The caterpillar's owner shouted.

"Mana, Kisara, please use your powers to save us!" Seto pleaded with the two women.

"This isn't over!" their desperate enemy shouted. "Attack them!"

Respectively opening its mouth and lifting her wand the dragon-rider duo charged their attacks and released it at the same time. Merging their attacks at a central point, the now-combined attack quickly made work of both the caterpillar and its master. The combined attack was so powerful that it broke through the roof of the underground chamber, breaking through the ground's surface, streaming like a beacon so high in the sky that spectators miles away could see it.

Having been helped to safety, Seto entrusted both the unconscious Mana and Kisara to two soldiers respectively.

"Take the women to the infirmary and place them in the same room. If you see a blonde woman, tell her that I asked to keep them together as I will come and explain the situation to her momentarily. Also, let no one except for the Pharaoh, the blonde woman and me in the room. Seto commanded them and turned to Aknadin.

"Do you have any idea of what we now hold in our hands? Those girls wield monsters with enough power to defeat Bacura with one blast. Of course, we would have to take it from them – which means that we would have to seal the monsters in stone. So-" Aknadin rambled, but the outraged Seto cut him off.

"Have you lost your mind?!" he demanded and thought to himself, 'He is completely insane! This is not the man who taught me everything I know about being a priest!'

"Don't let your emotions cloud your reason, Seto. Those girls are your key to the throne!"

"We already have a Pharaoh!" Seto raged, "And Bacura is rotting away in the dungeon."

Taking Seto's hand, Aknadin again tries to convince Seto to listen to him: "Are you sure that Bacura is still in the dungeon? When was the last time someone went to make sure that he is really there? Rumour has it that he escaped and the Pharaoh has another agenda with that prophecy. Egypt cannot survive without a king. Do what is right for you country and take the throne!"

Wrenching his hand out of Aknadin's, Seto said harshly: "That is enough! I refuse to hear another word of this. You have disgraced the name of the Pharaoh and I won't be a part of it. My place is beside the throne, not upon it, even if the Pharaoh has another agenda. Now if you will excuse me."

With those words being said, Seto walked away and ignored his one-time mentor's calls to wait.

'If you will not seize your destiny, then I have no choice but to seize it for you, my son.' Aknadin thought with determination.

 _Scene and Timeswitch_

Night has fallen upon Yugi and his friends and they hadn't reached the Valley of Kings yet. After setting up camp, everyone quickly ate something and retreated to their tents. Not wanting to catch any bandits or robber's attention, they had not made a campfire and therefore had gone to sleep quite early.

A few hours later, when the moon was at its highest, a shadow sneaked out of the camp and hightailed to a nearby overhanging cliff where it met up with another shadow.

"Did you bring it?" the second shadow asked.

Catching the sack thrown at him, he opened it and took out the millennium ring and the millennium necklace.

Grinning menacingly, he said: "Well done, my second little pawn. Now, I have another little task for you…"

TBC


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 _Previously_

" _Did you bring it?" the second shadow asked._

 _Cathing the sack thrown at him, he opened it and took out the millennium ring and the millennium necklace._

 _Grinning menacingly, he said: "Well done, my second little pawn. Now, I have another little task for you…"_

 _On with the story_

Looking down at the slumbering Kisara, Seto could not stop himself from remembering the events of the previous night.

 _Flashback_

 _Respectively opening its mouth and lifting her wand the dragon-rider duo charged their attacks and released it at the same time. Merging their attacks at a central point, the now-combined attack quickly made work of both the caterpillar and its master. The combined attack was so powerful that it broke through the roof of the underground chamber, breaking through the ground's surface, streaming like a beacon so high in the sky that spectators miles away could see it._

 _End Flashback_

'That girl was right.' He thought as her remembered Valkyria's warning

 _Flashback 1_

 _Valkyria gave Seto a scornful look and said coldly, "You had better get that arrogance of yours in check, Priest, otherwise you will be held responsible for the death of the one you care for the most."_

 _End Flashback 1_

 _Flashback 2_

" _I will not warn you a third time; get that attitude of yours in check or the woman of your heart will die by your hands."_

 _End Flashback 2_

'How did she know that Kisara and I would cross paths again?' he thought to himself. 'Come to think of it, how did she know that Mahad was in danger of being sealed back at the magician's training grounds? Is she really the daughter of the Egyptian gods? Could they have told her that Mahad needed help?' he pondered.

"Argh, there are too many unanswered questions and it seems that instead of answers, more questions keep on piling up!" he said frustrated.

'Speaking of which, another unanswered question,' he thought to himself, 'is what has gotten into Master Aknadin? He has most certainly not been himself these past few days. What puzzles me the most is how a man who has built his reputation on giving mercy to criminals can be so heartless? When I first entered the Pharaoh's royal court, it was Aknadin who taught me compassion and reason, but now I hardly recognize him. A few days ago he was fully against my plan of building an army of creatures of potential criminals and now he wants to forcefully take it from anyone he can lay his hands on, specifically yours, Kisara, now that your secret is out.'

"Master Seto, it has just been confirmed that Bacura truly had escaped! Unfortunately, the soldiers at the dungeon do not know when it happened!" one of Seto's most trusted spies/informants/soldiers told Seto from the room's entrance.

"I should have known!" Seto grunted. "That man's cunningness knows no bounds."

"There is more:" the soldier continued, "I tried to find out where that rumour started, but everyone I asked was completely unaware of the rumour's existence."

"That means that we have a traitor amongst us, because it must have been an inside job." Seto reasoned. "One of our very own had set him free and started the rumour. We must tell the Pharaoh at once! Where is he?"

"It seems that the Pharaoh has left the palace along with a couple of guards and Master Shada. Apparently, they had gone to investigate a town named Kul Elna. Furthermore, it seems that Lady Mana has tricked the Pharaoh into taking her along." the soldier answered.

"Master Seto! Bad news!" a second guard shouted as he ran into the room, "A messenger hawk has arrived. Master Mahad and Priestess Isis' millennium items were stolen last night. They are on their way back, but the rest of the group is going to continue on their journey on their own."

"What?" Seto demanded. "Gather the troops. The Pharaoh might be in danger! We leave for Kul Elna in one hour!" Having received his orders, the second guard ran off.

Taking a last glance at Kisara, Seto straightened his back and walked out of the room, having silently ordered the remaining soldier to move Kisara to a safer location without being seen.

 _Sceneswitch_

As they rode to Kul Elna, Yami remembered the warning the received the previous night.

 _Flashback_

 _Standing on the balcony, Yami could not ease the feeling of unrest cropped in his chest. Walking back to his bed, he lied down and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep, but his thoughts kept him awake: 'Bacura said that my father sought the power and that is why he had the millennium items created so that he could rule the world. Does Bacura's rambles hold any truth to them? Did my father really bring harm to innocent people in order to create the seven millennium items? Or did he rule justly and restore peace to Egypt?'_

 _Yami did not know how long he laid in his bed with all the questions bouncing around in his head before he finally fell asleep. He could not have been asleep for too long before a golden light woke him._

" _Whose there?" he demanded. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Yami saw a man wearing a golden mask, creating rays so bright that it illuminated his whole room._

" _I am he who is known as Hassan. I have come to warn you of an impending danger, Pharaoh. Zorc, the dark one will soon awaken."_

" _Who is Zorc?" Yami asked Hassan._

 _Hassan answered: "The embodiment of pure darkness."_

 _Gasping, Yami lurched forward toward the stranger. "Please, tell me what I can do to stop him!"_

" _When the time is right, you will know." Hassan answered and with that he disappeared._

 _End Flashback_

'There are too many questions that still remain unanswered. Before I can assuredly know what to do about this Zorc, I need to find the truth. And right now, it seems that the only way to find the truth is to go to the source, which seems to be Kul Elna'.

Meanwhile, Mana was thinking about the conversation she had with the gods the previous night.

 _Flashback_

" _What is vexing you, Mana?" Slifer asked the girl who was so lost in thought that she didn't hear them calling her._

" _I was wondering what I was going to do." Mana answered. Seeing their questioning expressions, she elaborated: "If everything is going to happen as it originally did, a lot of things are going to happen very soon. I don't want the priests to die, but how can I save them as Valkyria if Mana is constantly being watched at a different place -"_

" _At the same time?" Obelisk filled in, grasping why she was so lost in thought._

 _Nodding, Mana looked at the gods for guidance._

" _Well, Mana, since you cannot focus on two pieces at different places at the same time, the best bet I'd say is to remove one of the pieces from the gameplay altogether, allowing you to focus completely on the other piece." Ra answered._

" _How?" Mana asked._

" _Do not worry about that, it has already been taken care of." Slifer said sternly. "Just make sure to act when you are given the chance tomorrow."_

 _End Flashback_

'I am going to have to be very careful.' Mana thought. 'One slip-up could mean the end of us all.'

 _Sceneswitch_

Deep beneath the ghost town of Kul Elna lies a long-forgotten, secret chamber. Or long-forgotten is what it should have been, had Bacura not constantly visited the creepy chamber to remind himself of his purpose. And right now, at this very minute the underground chamber is precisely where Bacura could be found, cackling like a maniac.

"Now, millennium stone, I give you two offerings. The first is the millennium necklace." He said as he placed it in its indentation in the stone. "It would have been the millennium puzzle, but it seems that one of my puppets failed me. However, the necklace is not such a bad lose, because now that Isis cannot spy upon us, so I'm not complaining too much. The next item is a personal favourite of mine: the millennium ring." and with those words, he put the ring in its place.

Bacura had just let go of the ring when it suddenly lit up.

Taking it as a sign in his favour, Bacura laughed again.

"It's working. As soon as all seven millennium items are returned to their final resting place, the doorway between this realm and the one beyond will be unlocked. Only then, will Zorc, the dark one be released. The very being who created the shadow realm eons ago will return to envelop world in darkness."

The last word had barely left Bacura's lips when, suddenly, a darkish shadow smoke-like hand came from the ring and grabbed hold of Bacura.

Hanging in the air, Bacura carefully asked the shadow, "What have I done to anger you?"

"Bacura," a hollow voice answered, "find the eighth key."

"But what is the eighth key?" the confused Bacura asked the shadow.

The shadow flung Bacura to the ground and disappeared, saying, "Find it!"

"The eighth key?" Bacura muttered as he sat up, "What could he have meant by that?" Pondering for a moment, it came to him: "Yes, of course, when the Pharaoh defeated Zorc, he couldn't defeat the darkness, so he locked it away. There is only one way to resurrect this beast and for centuries, only the Pharaoh knew the answer, and that do-gooder didn't tell a soul! And now, it's gone! Still, I thought I figured it out. I was under the impression that the secret to unlocking the darkness is to return the seven millennium items to this stone. But apparently, there is another element. An eighth key, the identity which only exists in the Pharaoh's mind. Unfortunately, His Majesty wiped his own memory clean, so now, not even he knows the answer."

Thinking for a moment, the answer came to him.

"Wait, that's it! It was in front of me the whole time! The eighth key! It was removed from that tablet that was shown in the museum in Domino City! All I have to do is find it and that will be an easy task, since I have two pawns to my beck and call!" Bacura said and laughed evilly.

 _Sceneswitch_

MEANWHILE AT THE PALACE

"We are going to the village of Kul Elna!" Seto told the soldiers. "Bacura has escaped and our King might be in great danger."

'No!' Aknadin thought from his hiding place, 'Not that! Not the village of Kul Elna!"

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(W_ _ith Yami)_

Slowly riding through the deserted town of Kul Elna, Yami hear a soldier ask: "What is this place?"

Another soldier answered, "I heard that this was once the home of thieves and bandits. Then, one night, everyone just disappeared."

Suddenly, out of thin air, skeletons appeared and started attacking the group. Instantly, Shada activated his Diadhank and summed the Two-headed Jackal Warrior and although terrified, the soldiers also moved into position.

Jumping from his horse, Mana readied her wand and started helping the soldiers. After she offed one of her enemies, she turned to Yami, "I'm going to help the others for a while. Go on ahead without us. We'll catch up soon."

"Very well, Mana." Yami responded and steered his horse away. 'It seems that it is always you protecting me instead of me protecting you. Will I ever be able to keep my promise to Timeous?'

After a while, Yami found the entrance to the underground passage. Climbing down the stairs, Yami carefully observed his surroundings. 'Bacura is here, I can sense him.' he thought to himself.

Reaching the foot of the stairs, he courageously called out, "I know you're down here!"

"I must say I am impressed, Pharaoh." Bacura's voice came from the other side of the room. "Your father never had the courage to come here, which makes him a wiser man than you!"

"Let's duel." Yami said.

"There is something that I want to show you first!" Bacura said mockingly and took a glance over his shoulder.

"Is that the legendary millennium stone tablet?" Yami asked.

"The one and only," Bacura taunted, "and, as you can see, each of the millennium items fit neatly inside. Oh, and did I mention the stone is guarded by the very spirits who were imprisoned to create it? Your father destroyed their village and captured them in an attempt to gain the power to dominate mankind. How do I know, you ask? Because I am the only villager who escaped- the sole survivor, if you will."

Not taking his eyes off the ghosts who were idly surrounding him, Yami answered with certainty, "My father created the millennium items to bring peace and prosperity to Egypt! Understand?" and shifted his attention to Bacura. In fact, Yami was so focused on his conversation with Bacura that he was completely unaware of one of the ghosts tempering with the rope of the millennium puzzle.

"I understand that's what you have been told by your so-called guardians." Bacura answered, keeping the Pharaoh occupied while his little friend was chewing on the rope of the puzzle. "But they lie! Now then, spirits, open his eyes to the truth!"

Instantly the ghosts surrounded him. He was just about to call upon the power of his puzzle when he suddenly felt a weight disappear from his neck. Glancing up, he saw one of the ghost take the puzzle to Bacura.

"A present for me? How kind of you!" Bacura taunted. "Now, without your puzzle, you're powerless! Finally, after years of hiding in the darkest shadows, the town of Kul Elna strikes back! It's almost poetic."

Suddenly, the ghosts surrounding the Pharaoh lit up and disappeared. Once the light was gone, both Bacura and Yami were shocked to see the millennium puzzle once again hanging around Yami's neck.

"What's this?" Bacura demanded.

Standing in front of the Pharaoh, stood Dark Magician, armed and ready to protect its master. "When you threaten the Pharaoh, you threaten me! And since the puzzle does not belong to you, I took the liberty of returning it to its rightful owner."

"Mahad?" Yami asked, "No, you're not Mahad. Dark Magician, is that you?" Yami asked shocked.

"Even though Lady Valkyria separated me from my creator, I was able to retain my creator's memories, face and duty to protect you when you are unable to defend yourself." Dark Magician explained to the Pharaoh.

"Wait, you said that you have Mahad's memories?" Yami asked his monster, earning a nod. "Then, can you by any chance tell me the truth of the millennium items? Did my father really have a whole village slaughtered in order to create it?"

(A.N. STORY FOLLOWS CANON'S PLOTLINE UP TO THE POINT WHERE DARK MAGICIAN GIRL SAVES DARK MAGICIAN.)

"Dark Magician is safe, my pharaoh." a feminine voice rang from the ceiling.

Looking up, Yami saw Dark Magican Girl levitating in the air, holding on to a hanging Dark Magician with all her might.

"Who summoned you?" Dark Magian asked.

"An old student of your creator." the young sorceress answered and looked up at her summoner who was kneeling on the roof of the underground chamber.

"Talk about cutting it close, eh Pharaoh?" Mana asked, smiling down at Yami.

"Mana!" Yami said with relief.

Sliding down the pillar Mana joined Yami and had Dark Magician Girl lower Dark Magician.

 _Sceneswitch_

Hacking away the skeleton away with his Two-Headed Jackal Warrior, Shada saw some his fellow priests swiftly riding towards him on horseback.

"Where's the Pharaoh?" Seto asked him.

"He is in the underground chamber. The entrance is not far from here. You lot go on ahead and aid our king, I'll hold back these spirits. Mana left a while ago to go help him; she should have reached his side by now."

Shortly after they left Shada, Seto, Karim and Shimon found their way to the entrance to the underground chamber and not a moment too soon, for had Seto's Duos' sword not intercepted one of Diabound's attacks would have killed Yami that had gotten past Mana's defence.

"We have come to defend you, my King." Seto said as he and the rest of the group moved in front of the panting duo.

Summoning their monsters, the priests attacked Diabound. Shocked, they saw how the lost ones of Kul Elna moved in front of Diabound and took the role of a shield to protect Bacura's monster.

"That is why the two of us weren't able to even leave a scratch on that thing. Every time we attack, the Lost Ones intercept." Mana explained.

"And I think it is time to even the odds since you have three millennium items on your side. Now, spirits, fill me with your power so I may avenge your suffering!" Bacura sneered. As he finished talking, the spirits flew into him, causing Diabound's size, and unfortunately power, to double.

"Now," Bacura said with a maniacal grin, "let's even the score. Diabound, helical shockwave!"

The now-stronger Diabound sent the royal court flying across the room.

"Do it, Diabound!" Bacura shouted. Before any of them could react, the millennium bearers felt their items being ripped out of their grasps and a weight once again leaving his neck.

Giving the items to its master, Bacura smiled and started taunting them. "Oh, it is so kind of you to give your precious millennium items to me. Only two items left and then Zorc will finally be released!"

Pinned to the floor along with the priests since the last helical shockwave, Mana heard 'Mana, the opening is swiftly approaching. Be sure to act when it is time!' run through her head.

Mana was still contemplating how to pull off her little disappearing act but got distracted when she saw Yami struggling to his feet. Slowly, Yami walked up to Diabound. Once again the spirits formed a shield in front of the monster.

"Pharaoh, what are you doing?" one of the priests called out.

"Listen to me; when my father ordered the creation of the millennium items, evil spirits needed to be captured to complete the spell." Yami explained.

"And now, they want revenge." Seto guessed.

Nodding, Yami continued, "These dark spirits blame me for being trapped here and want me to pay the price. So I shall allow my soul to join them and this grudge to be lain to rest, once and for all."

Hearing this, Bacura screamed, "Vengeance is finally ours, my spirit friends. Absorb his spirit!"

Furiously, the spirits started flying into Yami, hurting him to the very core.

"Pharaoh!" the spectators shouted, struggling to break free from where they were pinned down to the ground.

"I never intended for this to happen, my son." a masculine voice unexpectedly rang through the chamber.

"Can it be?" Shimon asked with wide eyes. "Pharaoh Aknamkanon?"

A transparent figure of Aknamkanon appeared at Yami's side. "Do not blame my son for my actions." the figure told the spirits. "If you want to punish someone for what has been done to you, punish me." and with those words, he widely spread out his arms.

Screeching as one, the spirits started flying into Aknamkanon.

TBC


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 _Last time on The Uncrowned Queen_

 _A transparent figure of Aknamkanon appeared at Yami's side. "Do not blame my son for my actions." the figure told the spirits. "If you want to punish someone for what has been done to you, punish me." and with those words, he widely spread out his arms._

 _Screeching as one, the spirits started flying into Aknamkanon._

 _Now let's pick up where we left off_

The spirits were about to enter Aknamkanon, when he and Yami were suddenly surrounded in a golden aura. Screeching furiously, they looked around to find the one who was denying them their vengeance.

"Lost ones of Kul Elna, hear me!" a voice rang out, catching both the spirits and the royal court's attention. Much to everyone's astonishment, they saw Mana standing in the middle of the room, emanating a soft golden light. "Your anger and your thirst for vengeance are misguided. Pharaoh Aknamkanon was tricked, by non-other than his own brother, priest Aknadin who had withheld critical information about the creation of the millennium items from him. Had His Majesty known what the ritual entailed, he would have turned it down immediately and seek other ways of defending Egypt."

"I don't believe it!" Shimon said shocked.

"That must be why Aknadin has been acting so strange ever since Bacura first showed up in the throne room and kept talking about this place!" Seto realized.

"When the Pharaoh was told the truth about the ritual, he blamed himself. It was his own conscience that drove him to an early grave. An innocent man died, while the real culprit, the real guilty party, is still roaming this world!"

"That is a lie!" Bacura shouted with outrage.

"Are you sure, Bacura? Pharaoh Aknamkanon had given the task of Egypt's safety to Aknadin, yes, but he had never given him permission to kill anyone for that purpose. You had only been a little boy when it happened and ever since then, you had been alone; alone in your thoughts. You had been alone for so long with only the lost ones as company that your mind had started believing that it was Aknamkanon you saw that night, when you had originally seen Aknadin." Mana reasoned, taking the wind out of Bacura's sails.

"Hold on, Mistress Mana, the ritual entails the sacrifice of evil and darkhearted people to be successful." Dark Magician argued. "That is why this town was chosen, because the town was the home of bandits, thieves, and grave robbers."

Upon hearing what Dark Magician said, the spirits screeched furiously. Listening intently, Mana started relaying what they told her. "It's a lie. Oh, the town had his fair share of shady people, but a lot of good, honest people lived here. That story that this town was full of evil people was just a rumour. Years ago, when Pharaoh Aknamkanon was still a child, a band of travellers came here and they were welcomed with opened arms and warm smiles. And then, when they least expected it, the band of travellers attacked them. Many were hurt and even more were killed. Out of fear that they would be attacked again while the town's defences were still weak, the survivors started spreading the rumour that this town was the home of robbers and thieves in order to scare people from coming here. The rumour had worked, but it seems that the rumour had worked a little too well, for it was that rumour that had led Aknadin here."

"And who would want revenge after they were so brutally murdered because of a false rumour." Karim said with understanding.

"All of you were robbed the right to live that night. But if you would allow me, I can send you all to another world, a place where you will be free of the events that occurred here, a place where all of this would just seem like a nasty nightmare." Mana told the spirits.

The spirits again screeched something. Moving their gaze to Mana, the spectators waited for a translation.

"Do not worry about him. I promise that we will avenge you and that Aknadin will be punished for his crime." Mana assured them. "So what is your answer?"

As one, the spirits agreed with Mana's proposition.

Two spirits broke away from the rest of the group and flew around Bcura, who had become unresponsive since he heard what Mana had told him. Diabound had disappeared.

"You want me to send him with you?" Mana asked the two spirits. Upon hearing a humming sound, she nodded and lifted her wand. The two spirits grabbed Bacura by the hand and flew up to re-join the group.

"Good luck. Be sure not to cut off the outside world this time." she warned and flashed a blinding light at them

With a satisfied smile, she turned to Aknamkanon.

"Thank you, Mana" the transparent figure said with a grateful smile.

"Did you really think I'd allow my teacher to be doomed for all eternity for somebody else's crime?" she retorted with a sly smirk.

Chuckling, Aknamkanon turned to his son, "You have done well so far, my boy. Keep up the good work."

"I will, Father." Yami said.

Turning back to Mana, he started, "Mana, I-"

"I know. You secretly took me in and raised me as your own. Now it is time to have a well-deserved rest."

"Thank you, Daughter." and with those words, he disappeared.

"Finally, it is over." Shimon said relieved.

"I am afraid that it is far from over." Mana said turning to the others. "Pharaoh Aknamkanon did not realise it, but my magic is the only thing that has kept the roof from caving in." The last word had barely left her mouth, when the roof started crumbling and the walls of the shrine cracking.

"Then we have to move!" Karim shouted and started towards the exit. Much to his disappointment, he saw that the exit was blocked.

"Quickly, summon a monster that can fly and go through the roof!" Seto shouted, but before he could add any action to his words, he was stopped by a slightly panting Mana.

"No, don't do that. If you summon anything, my magic will be disturbed.

"Then, how are we going to get out?" Shimon asked.

"I'll send you out." Mana answered.

"No, Mana, you can't-you are already panting." Yami reasoned. "We'll just have to think of som-" but he was cut off when he heard something crack above his head come loose from the roof. Looking up, he saw a gigantic piece of the roof falling to the precise spot where he was standing. Out of reflex, he closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms.

"UWRAA-AAAA-AAAAA-AAAA" he heard Mana scream and felt himself being enveloped by something.

Almost instantly, Yami felt himself forcefully being shoved out of whatever took hold of him. Falling on his knees, he took a moment to recollect himself. Looking over his shoulder, Yami saw a Mystic Box fade away.

Standing up, he saw the others also on all fours, trying to recollect themselves as well.

"Is everyone all right?" he asked. Hearing responses of "Yes, my king." and "I am alright.," he turned to the entrance of the cave. It was completely blocked and the roof of the cave had collapsed completely.

"Thank you, Mana, you have saved us all." Yami said, remembering how narrowly they had escaped and instant death.

Not hearing a response, he turned toward the others, only to see them looking around, searching for her.

"Mana? Come now this isn't funny!" Yami called out.

"She isn't here, my Pharaoh. It seems that, in order to save all of us, she had stayed behind." Shimon said carefully.

"No!" Yami yelled and started to run over to the caved in roof, but before he could reach it, he felt himself being grabbed from behind.

"Let me go!" I have to help her! I have to save Mana!" Yami yelled as he struggled to get loose.

"And let her sacrifice be in vain? Would you dishonour her in such a way? She sacrificed herself to save all of us. Let us rather honour her memory by keeping the promise she made to the people of this place who had suffered by Master Aknadin's hand." Seto reasoned with Yami.

"My pharaoh, what has happened?" Shada shouted as he slowly struggled over to Yami and the others. "Where is Mana?"

Karim briefly explained what occurred in the cave, including what Aknadin had done to create the millennium items, and how Mana had saved their lives by giving up her own.

"I see. You have my sympathies, my Pharaoh." Shada said and received a somber nod from the silent Yami.

"Back to the matter at hand, I think that, either priest Aknadin has more to answer to than just the event around the millennium items, or Bacura had gotten to Priest Aknadin and left a lasting effect on him. It happened a while after the other priests had sped off to the Pharaoh's side…"

 _Flashback_

 _(Shada P.O.V)_

 _I had just saved Master Aknadin from some of this place's spirits._

 _Kneeling at his side, I told him that he shouldn't wander this village's streets alone. Immediately, he asked about the others whereabouts._

" _They have all gone to an underground cavern to help the pharaoh." I told him._

 _Suddenly, my Key started rattling, like it always does when it senses something, something very powerful. Looking up, I saw a house whose door was closed, as if it was protecting something._

 _Telling Master Aknadin to stay behind, I approached the door. Opening the door, I found a set of stairs leading to what seemed to be the cellar of the house. Following what my Key wanted to show me, I started descending the stairs._

 _After I reached the foot of the stairs, I saw something that took my breath away, and not in awe. Against the other side of the stairs was an enormous tablet, housing Bacura's Diabound._

 _I was still staring at it in shock, when Master Aknadin started talking behind me: "Everything is starting to make sense to me now."_

 _Asking what he meant by that statement, he started to explain: "Diabound must have been created by the evil spirits of this village. It was born out of their rage and sealed in this stone down here."_

" _So if we destroy this tablet, Bacura's beast would be no more."_

 _End flashback_

"I was about to summon my Two-headed Jackal Warrior, when I was struck from behind. When I finally woke up, the tablet and my Key were missing."

"It would make sense if Bacura had gotten to Master Aknadin, because he completely out of character yesterday. Seto said evenly and told them of how Aknadin had taken his original plan and "improved" it and what he was willing to do to two innocent women. He also told them how Aknadin tried to convince Seto to rise and take Yami's place on the throne as well as the fact that Aknadin had told him the rumour of Bacura's escape, but no one knowing where the rumour started.

"But why? Why does he want you to take the throne so badly? And who set Bacura free?" Shimon asked Seto. Seto silently shook his head and raised his shoulders, indicating that he did not know.

"We will not find any answers here. According to the soldiers, Aknadin is nowhere to be found. It will be dark soon; we best leave for the palace while it is still light out." Shada said.

 _Scene and Timeswitch_

It is dark out and Yami had finally retreated to his cambers for the night. Sitting on his bed, he was finally able to let the tears roll freely down his cheeks. Ever since Mana died, he was able to restrain himself, but now that he was in the solitude of his own rooms, he was not able to hold it back any more.

'Why Mana, why did it have to be you? Why did you have to die now that I was finally able to realize what my heart was trying to tell me ever since I saw you standing there amongst the Atlantian Dragons? When I had that dream of seeing you on that tablet, it hurt, but now, now it feels like my heart is being ripped to shreds! According to my dreams, I was at least able to bury a tablet with your image on it last time, but now, I don't even have that to lay to rest!'

Muffling his sobs in his pillows, Yami cried his heart out, mourning the death of the only woman he would ever be able to love.

Just before he fell asleep from exhaustion, he thought: 'I am sorry, Timeous. I had failed you again. For a second time, I was unable to keep my promise to you. I am so, so sorry.'

TBC


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Night has fallen and Yami had already retreated for the night when Mahad and Isis finally arrived at the palace. Seto, Karim, Shada and Shimon, who were still awake, thinking of ways to catch Aknadin, went to greet them.

"We must find the Necklace and Ring as soon as possible. If Bacura gets his hands on it, who knows what might happen! Tell Mana to come to my chambers so that she can help me find the items. If two cast the locator spell together, the chances are we might find it faster and –" Mahad rambled, but Isis cut him off.

"Mahad, something is wrong!"

Looking at the grave look on the ohters' faces, Mahad demanded: "What happened? And where is Mana? I do not sense her presence."

"I am afraid Mana is no longer with us." Shimon said gently.

"She ran away again?!" Mahad asked, exasperatedly, not understanding what the elder man meant. (she did run off quite often after all- anything to skip her lessons)

"No, what I meant was-" Shimon started.

"Stop beating around the bush, Shimon." Seto cut him off. "This is no time for subtlety! What the man means, Mahad, is that your student is dead! She met her end earlier today after getting rid of Bacura and saving us from a cave-in."

"How? What happened while Mahad and I were away?" Isis asked.

"Let me explain." Shimon said. :It all started when the Pharaoh decided to go to Kul Elna to find some answers regarding the millennium items…"

 _Sceneswitch_

While Shimon was explaining how Mana met her demise, Yami was dreaming, but it was neither a calm dream, nor peaceful one.

 _Yami's Dream_

 _Opening his eyes, Yami instantly recognized the place he never wanted to see again: he was back at the place where he had lost a dear friend just a few hours ago._

' _What am I doing back here? Have I not suffered enough already?' he bitterly thought to himself."_

" _There will be time for mourning later, Pharaoh, but now is not that time. The war has only just begun; you still have a lot to do and the time of Zorc's arrival will be here sooner than you think." a feminine voice said behind him._

 _Turning around, he was shocked to see Mana standing where the voice had come from._

" _Mana, I –" he started, but was cut off when she pointed to the ruins behind him. Turning to see what she was pointing to, he felt as if all his surroundings had frozen as he saw Aknadin putting the millennium items he thought buried as well as the millennium eye into their respective places in the uncovered Millennium Stone._

" _Stop, Aknadin." he shouted, "Don't do this!"_

 _Looking up from where he had just put the last one of the seven items in its place, Aknadin smiled like a maniac. "And why shouldn't I, dearest, nephew?_ _ **I**_ _am responsible for the creation of these items and_ _ **I**_ _shall decide their fate! Master Zorc, hear me! I now offer you these seven treasures!"_

' _What's this?' Yami thought. 'I sense a pulse of pure evil beating below my feet.' Pondering for a few seconds he realized what it meant: 'The dark one is awakening!'_

" _All Aknadin needs to do, is utter the name of the current ruler of this country, the name you yourself have forgotten, and Zorc will be free." Mana informed him. "And seeing that he is your uncle, he has known it since the moment you were born. Zorc has once again been unleashed unto the world."_

" _So, the mortal responsible for creating the millennium items has returned. Now, denounce your allegiance to Egypt, and pledge your loyalty to me!" an awfully hollow voice said, sending chills down Yami's spine. "Do this, and whatever you desire shall be yours!"_

" _My only wish, is for a new pharaoh to be named." Aknadin answered. "And he shall be, my own beloved son, Seto!"_

 _Turning to Mana with wide eyes, Yami asked, "Seto is Aknadin's son?"_

 _Nodding gravely, Mana answered, "And he does not even know it. Pharaoh, I was able to save Bacura, because he was only Zorc's toy. Bacura had pawns of his own and they are now directly answering to Zorc. It is now up to you and the others to stop him. Hurry, Pharaoh, Zorc is coming!"_

 _Dream end_

Sitting upright in his bed, Yami flung off the covers and got dressed before running off to find the others, who were luckily still discussing earlier events.

"Raise the alarms! Take the citizens to safety!" he yelled at them as he reached the others.

"My pharaoh, what is wrong? What happened?" Mahad asked.

"I had received message from beyond the grave." Yami answered. "Aknadin had picked up where Bacura had left off. The dark one has been awakened and it is coming…"

TBC


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 _Previously on Uncrowned Queen_

"… _Pharaoh, I was able to save Bacura, because he was only Zorc's toy. Bacura had pawns of his own and they are now directly answering to Zorc. It is now up to you and the others to stop him. Hurry, Pharaoh, Zorc is coming!"_

 _Xxxx_

" _My pharaoh, what is wrong? What happened?" Mahad asked._

" _I had received message from beyond the grave." Yami answered. "Aknadin had picked up where Bacura had left off. The "dark one" has been awakened and it is coming…"_

 _Now, back to the story_

Looking through the window of the room Seto's soldier bought her earlier, Kisara saw all the soldiers ad servants running around in the palace yard like ants of a recently destroyed anthill.

'What in the name of Egypt could be going on down there?' she wondered.

She had barely finished that thought when Seto burst into the room like a hurricane.

"Seto?" she asked. Looking at him, she saw a wild look in his eyes. "What is wrong? What happened?"

"You need to go, now! A war is coming and it isn't safe for you here." Seto commanded the young woman.

"That is not what I asked you. When I asked you 'What is wrong?' and 'What happened?', I meant 'What is wrong **with you**?' and 'What has happened **to you**?'" Kisara said calmly, completely ignoring what he told her of the impending war.

Dejected, he sagged onto the edge of the bed and hid his face in his hands. Sitting down by his side, Kisara silently encouraged him to tell her what was wrong.

After a while, she heard a muffled "It's Aknadin."

Frowning slightly, she asked, "The man you saved me and the other girl from?" earning a nod.

"He betrayed us and had awoken the "dark one"."

"I guess it is safe for me to assume that that is not all." Kisara guessed. "Will you tell me?"

 _Flashback_

 _(Seto POV)_

We priests were about to alert the guards when Pharaoh said, "Seto, a word, please?"

Turning to him, I asked him what is wrong. He walked over to a window and stood there, gazing at who knows what. Then he sighed and asked me something I never expected: "What can you tell me about your father?"

Completely baffled, I said, "All I know is that he abandoned me and my mother when I was still a toddler. Why?"

Turning to me, he explained, "The message I had received took place as if I was really there. You can say I had a vision of sorts…"

 _Flashback in flashback_

" _So, the mortal responsible for creating the millennium items has returned. Now, denounce your allegiance to Egypt, and pledge your loyalty to me!" an awfully hollow voice said, sending chills down Yami's spine. "Do this, and whatever you desire shall be yours!"_

" _My only wish, is for a new pharaoh to be named." Aknadin answered. "And he shall be, my own beloved son, Seto!"_

 _End of Flashback in flashback_

"Are you trying to tell me that Aknadin-?" I choked.

"Yes, Seto, Aknadin is your father and none of us had even the slightest clue." the pharaoh said.

 _Flashback End_

 _(3_ _rd_ _person point of view)_

"That explains why you are so upset." Kisara said.

"And why you need to leave." Seto added.

"I don't follow. Why do you want **me** to leave? What does your father's involvement in all of this have to do with me leaving?" she asked him.

"It has everything to do with this!" he said harshly, jumping up from where he sat. "Don't you understand? When I came here, the one who taught me mercy and compassion was Aknadin. But today, I had to hear that not only did he betray us, but that his blood runs through my veins. Last time I saw him, I didn't see anything of my teacher in him; it is as if his mind snapped…. What's to keep my mind from snapping as well?" he asked, his voice growing softer as he finally admitted what was bothering him.

Standing up, Kisara walked over to him.

"Seto, do you remember when you saved me from the bandits so many years ago? Even though you were scared, you still did what you felt was right. You saved me, gave me your horse and told me to keep going. And instead of coming with me, you went back, knowing that you might run into him again. You wear a mask, portraying a non-caring façade, but underneath that mask is a soft, loving heart – and it is **that** heart that will keep you on the right path. As for Aknadin, remember him for what he was and not for what he has become."

Embracing her softly, he whispered a 'thank you' in her hair. After a few seconds, he let her go.

"But I still want you to go." Seto said. Seeing her frown, he started to explain: "Kisara, the first time we met Bacura a stranger saved us. She gave me a warning , and at a later time she warned me again that if I'm not careful, I will lose the woman of my heart. That is why I want you to leave; I need to know that you are safe. Even without our millennium items, we priests and the pharaoh are strong, and under his guidance, I am positive that we will be victorious. So if, no, **when** we have defeated the "dark one", I will come for you and bring you home. But until then, I need you to be somewhere all of this cannot reach you. Do you understand?"

Closing her eyes, she nodded.

"Good. One of my most trustworthy soldiers is waiting outside of this room. He will take you out back to the servants' entrance. A horse with supplies will be waiting for you there. So, until we meet again, good bye, Kisara." he said and started to walk away.

He had already crossed half of the room, when he suddenly came to a standstill, turned around, marched up to her in two strides, grabbed her by the arms and kissed her passionately before he stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned Kisara behind.

 _Sceneswitch_

Meanwhile, Karim, Shada and Shimon were evacuating the villagers.

"Do not worry. Everything is under control." Shimon told the villagers as they were led to safety.

"Where is Seto?" Karim asked Shada. "Was he not supposed to help us?"

"He will join us soon; he had to tell Kisara that she must flee- leave Egypt, if possible." Shada answered.

"I understand. I wonder how our pharaoh, Mahad and Isis are doing." Karim murmured.

 _Sceneswitch_

Back at the palace, Yami, Mahad and Isis were found in the Battleroom, trying to think of strategies that will not only secure all of Egypt but also of ways to stop Zorc before it does too much damage.

"This is getting us nowhere. We don't know where Aknadin is. We don't know whether he had already awoken the "dark one" or not. We don't even know where the "dark one" is or if he is on his way!" Isis said frustrated. "If only I had my necklace. At least then, we would have clarity about some things, even if it was to see where the millennium items are."

"But we can see- or at least, you can!" Mahad said excitedly. Seeing their questioning gazes, he explained: "Remember the time I told you of Mana freezing me when she left to battle that…thing?" he asked Yami.

"The black snake, and yes, I do remember. But what does her leaving have to do with Isis' 'sight'?" the confused Yami asked.

"Nothing," Mahad answered, "but what she told me does. She told me that we are relying on the millennium items too much. They were supposed to make the task easier, not perform the task on their own. And she is right, or at least partially, but Isis and I should be able to cast spells or 'see' without our millennium items."

Turning to Isis, Yami asked, "Is this true, Isis?"

"It is," Isis admitted, "but I'm ashamed to admit that I am out of practice, so it may take a while longer than normally."

"Very well." Yami said, giving her permission to proceed.

 _Timeswitch_

"All I saw was that the millennium items are still in what seems to be abandoned millennium stone, and a tablet that has a skull pattern around the edging. However, something was very peculiar about that tablet, because whatever it held prisoner, was fading. At the foot of the tablet, stood an hourglass whose sand was running out. So if I interpret this correctly, I'd say we have about an hour to get the millennium items and return, before the "dark one" will be awoken completely from its slumber." Isis said and sighed. "This is where the necklace allowed me to force the vision to show me more, but without it, we shall have to be content with what I have seen and understand from it."

"Mahad, I want you and Isis to go fetch the items and return them to their respectful owners." Yami ordered his priests. "Even if we do not use it for anything else, it will give the life-force on our diadhanks a boost. And if it is with us, we can at least prevent Aknadin from abusing its power any further."

"What about the millennium eye, my pharaoh?" Mahad asked Yami.

Sighing sadly, Yami shook his head. "Leave it. From what Mana showed me in the vision, it is still with Aknadin."

"I understand." Mahad answered. "Come Isis, let us be off. We have less than an hour."

 _Timeswitch_

"My pharaoh, I think Aknadin is on his way, because a strangely dressed being is making its way here, but it has the millennium eye. Also, it seems that a greyish-brown Diabound is with him." Shimon relay the news a soldier had brought him.

"Has all the villagers been evacuated?" Yami asked.

"Only just, Pharaoh, but they are safe." Karim answered.

"Then it is time to go face our enemies." Yami told his companions. 'I only hope that Mahad and Isis will find the items soon and that Yugi and the others find my name before it is too late.'

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(At the gate of the village)_

Yami, Seto, Karim and Shada stood in front of the gate with activated diadhanks, hell-bent on protecting their home from their once-friend, now enemy.

"Aknadin, stop this madness." Yami commanded the traitor. "Innocent people could be hurt!"

"I created the millennium items, and I will determine their fate." Aknadin retorted. "You, who everything was given to, are not worthy of the throne. No, the only one who deserves it, is my own son, Seto!"

"You might be my father by blood, and you might have been my master, but that is all. I have told you before and I will tell you again, my place is **beside** the throne, **not** on the throne." Seto answered with conviction.

"You don't know what you're saying, my boy. You, who I abandoned, had worked yourself up and earned your place in the palace. Don't you realize that you can do so much better? With you on the throne, you can have Egypt, no, the whole world at your feet!"

"Enough Aknadin, stop messing with his mind." Karim said and summoned Curse of Dragon.

"Diabound, get rid of that menace!" Aknadin shouted. Instantly Douabound's snake-head opened its mouth and shot a blast at Karim's monster. Luckily, Curse of Dragon was able to escape the blast just in time.

"Seto, you know what to do. I'm going to put my abilities to use." Karim told his comrade.

Nodding, Seto summoned his Duos and Karim merged the two monsters, creating Duos Dragon and sent it at Diabound. Unfortunately, Diabound was much too strong for Duos Dragon and destroyed it with one blow. Gasping in pain, Karim sank to his knees, because when he the merges his monster with someone else's monster, he alone will be the one to bear the pain if that merged monster is destroyed.

"Karim, are you all right?" Yami asked worriedly, receiving a slight nod. "Hold on, Karim."

Meanwhile, Shada called his Two-headed Jackal Warrior and sent it at Aknadin, but Diabound was too fast and protected his summoner, ridding Shada of his faithful Jackal, thus causing him to also sink to his knees in pain.

"Enough of this foolishness, Seto, listen to me. I did all of this for you." Aknadin said, walking up to him.

Yami, who was now kneeling at Shada's side, quickly stood up. "Get away from him, Aknadin!" he ordered.

"I will have none of you meddling in any of my plans!" Aknadin shouted, opened a vortex and threw the unsuspecting Seto through it and jumped in after him.

"Seto!" Yami shouted and started running to the vortex but had to halt in his tracks as the snake-head obstructed the vortex, giving it enough time to close.

Glaring at the snake-head, Yami turned around, just in time to see Diabound rearing its other head, letting a black darkening smoke leave its mouth. The smoke immediately started darkening the surrounding area with such a density that it caused Yami, Shada and Karim to lose consciousness.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Kisara)_

As she raced to safety, the scene of their conversation kept replaying in her mind.

'Seto wanted me to be safe. That is why he sent me away.' she thought to herself.

'But didn't you swear that if you ever meet him again, you would stay by his side and help him, no matter what the circumstances. And yet, now that you have the chance to help him, you are running away, like a scared little girl.' a small little voice reasoned with her.

'I-' she tried arguing with herself, but faltered.

'You came back with the intention of finding him. Why? Why did you come all this way if, with the first time of danger, you are fleeing like a scared animal?'

Tugging on the horse's reins, Kisara sat on the saddle, looking back to the place she just came from.

'You have been freed years ago. You are no longer a slave and you haven't been someone else's captive since that night Seto had saved you. You are placing yourself in the cage and you yourself are keeping the door to that cage shut.'

Feeling something run down her cheek, Kisara lifted her hand to wipe it off when she felt that it was wet. Baffled, she lowered her hand.

'Tears? I'm crying?' she thought.

'So the question you are asking yourself, Kisara,' the little voice said, 'is: are you going to stay in that cage you have created for yourself or are you going to do what you know is right?'

Yanking on the reins, Kisara started back to the village.

'Hang on, Seto, I'm coming!'

TBC


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Isis and Mahad had finally reached the ruins of Kul Elna and headed over to where the roof collapsed.

Looking at the rubble, Mahad felt the last spark of hope for his student's survival fade. "So this is where Mana is buried." Sighing sorrowfully, he asked, "There is no chance that she would have survived this, is there?"

"I am sorry, Mahad. I wish we had the time to mourn her death," Isis said, "but we don't. our mourning will have to wait until the war is over."

"You are right, Isis." Mahad said and swallowed his tears. "Now, where did you say the millennium stone was?"

"It shouldn't be too far from here." she answered and started searching for it. After a while, she saw it. Running up to it she quickly took the six items. (Remember, Aknadin still has the eye.)

"Look, Mahad, I found them!" she shouted excitedly, completely unaware of the dangerous figure looming behind her.

"Look out, Isis!" Mahad shouted, ran up to her and pushed her away, taking the enemy's attack at close range straight to the chest. The blow he had taken caused his diadhank's life-energy to lower drastically.

"Mahad!" Isis shouted, called Spiria to distract their enemy and helped him put some distance between them and the enemy.

"Here, take the millennium ring." Isis said urgently, kneeling at his side. "It will restore your life-force."

"The millennium ring is different than the others; I cannot just take it and use it like I would normally do, because Bacura had used it at some point. The ring will have to accept me first, and we do not have time for that." Mahad told his companion.

Fastening her necklace, Isis bravely stood up and moved in front of him. "Then I will just have to protect you."

"No, Isis. You have to get the items to the others. I will take that thing out while you make a run for it." Mahad instructed her.

"What? But Mahad-" she started.

"Isis, listen to me. My diadhank's life-force is almost non-existent. Even if both of us are able to return to the pharaoh's side, I will die if I receive even one blow. (A.N. Let's say his life points are 5) and on top of all that, your life force will be less as well, because you had to protect bot me and the millennium items." Mahad reasoned with her.

"Mahad." Isis said, tears filling her eyes.

"Sh…we are the priests of the pharaoh, and as priests, out duty come first. Now go, Isis."

Nodding, Isis summoned the Winged dragon, Guardian of the Fortress. Running towards her dragon, the enemy tried to stop her, but Mahad had his Dark Magician distract it.

"Your opponent is over here, you turtlish eyesore!" (the turtle Mana had to fight in canon)

Seeing that Isis was safely on her way, he sighed in relief. 'May the Egyptian gods be with you, Isis.'

Turning back the turtle, he shouted: "Finish him off with your Dark Magic Attack, Dark Magician!"

 _A few minutes later_

Leaning against a heap of rubble, the panting Mahad thought, 'I had finally defeated that thing, but not before my Dark Magician was able to destroy it, he was attacked from behind. (Life points: 1)

Looking up to the sky, he thought, 'My king, I wish you the best of luck in this battle.'

As Mahad's vision was fading, he saw something at the corner of his eye. With great exertion, he turned his head to see a white portal to his left.

With even greater exertion, he stood up and walked over to the portal in a very unsteadfast manner.

'What in the name of the ancients-' he thought curiously.

"Hey! What the-' he started as he felt someone push him through the portal and close it up behind him.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Isis)_

Sitting on Winged dragon, Guardian of the Fortress, she urged it to fly faster in an effort to lose the tail, an ugly black bird with a crooked yellow beak, sharp grey talons and red eyes, they had picked up not long after they left Mahad behind. But, try as they might, they just couldn't shake it off.

"Dodge, Winged dragon!" Isis shouted as the bird took another shot at them. The dragon dodged, but its wing was hit, ultimately hurting it and its mistress badly.

'This isn't good. If we get hit like that again, it'll be over! I cannot fail now; I need to take these items to the pharaoh!'

Wincing as her dragon's tail got singed in another attack, Isis knew what to do. Determined, she summoned Spiria and gave her the sack with the other millennium items.

"Take these to their respectful owners. The Winged dragon and I will stay behind to give you some time to escape. Here," she said and put the necklace around Spiria's neck, "the necklace will keep you in our world until your task has been completed. Now go!" she told Spiria and commanded her dragon to turn around.

"Attack, Winged dragon!" The injured blue dragon shot a fireball at its enemy the same time the bird released its attack. The two attacks collided and exploded violently, destroying both the bird and the Winged dragon, sending Isis spiraling to the ground.

'I am sorry, my pharaoh, it seems that I will not be able to fight alongside you and the others in this battle. I only hope that the items will reach all of you in time.' Isis thought and closed her eyes, not noticing a portal opening underneath her and sealing up once she fell through it.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Karim)_

It had taken quite some time for Karim to wake after being knocked out.

Standing up slowly, he staggered to the door of the building he found himself in that led to the outside.

'What happened?' he thought and looked around. 'Where am I? And where is the pharaoh?'

He was still trying to gain his bearings, when he heard something.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

A few seconds later, he saw a monster that was wrapped up like a mummy with a pot-belly and red eyes appear.

"Sorry I asked." Karim muttered and activated his diadhank.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Yami)_

"pharaoh, are you all right?" Yami heard someone shout. Looking up, he saw Spiria, shada and Shimon running towards him.

"I am all right, but what about you?" Yami asked, but before Shada could answer, he saw that Shada was holding his key.

"Shada, you have your key?" he asked.

"Yes, my pharaoh." Shada said. "Spiria found me and returned my key to me. She has your puzzle too as well as led us lead us to you. However, my pharaoh, look what is hanging around Spiria's neck. Mahad's ring is also in the sack."

"But if their items are here, that means that Isis and Mahad…" Yami started.

"It means that they had given their lives to ensure that the millennium items reach us." Shimon said miserably.

Yami clenched his fists in frustration.

A few seconds later, Spiria took off. Shada quickly explained that she must have taken off because he had located one of their companions. Swiftly, they took off after her.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Karim)_

Panting heavily, Karim looked at his Curse of Dragon who was doing its best to keep the "mummy" away from its master.

'Alone, my Curse of Dragon isn't strong enough to destroy that thing- not in my current state. And I am too weak to summon another monster.' he thought grimly, 'it is only a matter of time before it will be overpowered. There is only one thing I can do: merge the rest of my life-force with my dragon. Either way, I will die, but this way, my way, that monstrosity will at least be taken care of.'

Transferring all but a snitch of his life-force to his Curse of Dragon he had it attack the "mummy" one last time.

'Finally,' he thought as his knees gave way beneath him, 'that freak of nature is gone. It is up to you now, my king.' (life points: 0.5)

Lying face-down with his eyes closed, waiting for oblivion to claim him, he never registered that he was sinking away in a white portal and when he finally realized that something was wrong, the portal had already closed.

 _(Timeswitch)_

At first, they had not realized that something was wrong when they finally caught up with Spiria, but after a few seconds, they knew that something was dreadfully wrong- Karim was nowhere to be found and Spiria was behaving oddly.

"What is it, Spiria?" Shimon asked as he walked up to her.

Looking down, he saw a makeshift bandage. Picking it up, he showed it to the others.

Yami recognized it instantly.

"That is what I wrapped around Karim's wound." he said.

"It seems that we were too late." Shada said frowning as he looked at the traces of a battle that took place not too long ago. "But where has his body gone?"

"It seems that, when he lost, he was taken by the Shadows."

"I've seen enough! I have had enough of this nonsense. It is time we put a stop to this." Yami said n anger.

"My pharaoh, I have finally found you!" a soldier shouted as he galloped over to the pharaoh on his horse. Once he reached them, he got off and kneeled. "My captain had sent me to tell you that all the defenses are in place and that we are awaiting your command."

"Shada, Shimon, go with him and prepare for battle. I am going to fetch Seto." Yami commanded his priests, took the millennium rod from Spiria and gave the sack with the ring and scale to Shimon, telling them to take it with them.

Taking the reins the soldier held out to him, he got on, quickly thanked the soldier and turned to Spiria.

"Have you found Seto, Spiria?" he asked.

Upon receiving her nod, he said, "Lead the way."

TBC


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

(A.N. 1 EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN Aknadin and Seto will follow the original canon except for two things:

1\. Kisara came on horseback

2\. Kaiba never made an appearance in ancient Egypt.)

(A.n. 2 the fight between Kisara and Aknadin will also follow the original plotline)

(A.N.3 WE'RE GOING TO PICK AGAIN AT THE PART WHERE BLUE EYES DRIZZLED ONTO SETO IN HIS SUBCONCIOUS. HOWEVER, IN THE ORIGINAL STORY, HER BODY WAS FOUND LYING ON THE GROUND ONCE SETO WOKE UP, BUT HERE, HER BLDY DIDN'T REAPPEAR; IT DISAPPEARED IN A WHITE PORTAL)

"Where is Kisara?" Seto asked Yami.

"After she resisted your orders, she disappeared to save you. After she saved you though, there was a bright light, but she didn't return." Yami explained, clenching his fists.

Walking over to the tablet, Seto sank to his knees.

'I failed her.' he thought in self-disgust. 'The woman warned me more than once and I still failed!'

"My condolences, Seto." Yami said and squeezed Seto's shoulder. "I know how it feels to lose someone you care for so greatly."

"Sure you do." Seto said in self-pity.

"Yes, I do." Yami replied. "I had lost Mana, after all. Both Mana and Kisara sacrificed themselves to save us. Let us avenge their deaths by getting rid of the "dark one" for once and for all."

Standing up, Seto turned to Yamii and kneeled. "I am at your service, my liege." he said.

"Good. You may stand." Yami said and gave Seto his rod.

Seto had barely taken it, when the ground shook violently.

"We must hurry. The "dark one" will be here soon." Yami said and started for his horse.

Taking one last glance at the tablet that was now holding his lady-love's monster, he thought, 'I will never forget what ou have done for me, Kisara, thank you." and took the reins Yami held out to him.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(Wit Yugi)_

Yugi and the rest of the gang had finally made their way to Yami's tomb.

After what seemed to be an eternity, they had safely gotten past all the booby traps.

Yugi, Teá and Joey were in such a hurry to find Yami's real name, that none had realized that Tristan was acting very strangely.

After a very nasty experience with a balance beam, which had tipped once Tristan jumped off, Joey and Teá had to jump to get off with Yugi not too far behind, they had finally reached the safety of solid ground.

Going through a door, the three teens found themselves in a chamber of pure gold.

"So where do you reckon we'll find the pharaoh's name, Yug?" Joey asked.

"It will most likely be on a cartouche." Yugi answered.

"You mean that thing Teá gave the Pharaoh at the airport?"

"Exactly." Yugi answered, looking around.

"So it is supposed to be over there, right?" Joey asked and pointed to something in front of him.

"Ye- oh no!" Yugi said upset.

"What? What does it say?" Teá asked and came from where she was standing behind Yugi and Joey. Following Joey's finger, she saw a cartouche that was completel and utterly blank.

"Grandpa told me that there was an era when a ruler's name would only be painted or carved only **after** the ruler was buried. I had never en thought that the pharaoh might have been from that era, though." Yugi said with disappointment.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Joey grunted. "What do we do now?"

"First, we have to find Tristan and get out of here." Teá said determined. "Then, we have to go back to the pharaoh and look at that riddle again; it is our only hope right now."

"Well those stairs seem to be our way out of here." Joey said, pointing to a set of stairs. "Now, all we have to do is find Tristan- piece of cake."

A few minutes later, they found Tristan, only to discover that he was Bacura's pawn as he took on Bacura's form a little later.

"Bacura, what have you done with Tristan?" Joey demanded.

"Oh, I might look like Bacura, but I most certainly am not him. The real Bacura is gone, but he took some precautions. Now we answer directly to the reawakened "dark one." the Bacura look-alike answered.

"Leave us alone, Bacura! We don't have time for this nonsense!" Teá said with outrage.

"The only way you will get past me is is if Yugi beats me in a duel!" Bacura said with an evil smirk.

"Didn't you hear what the lady said? We don't have time for this!" Joey shouted.

"I will not let you leave this place alive if you do not duel me!" Bacura said and froze bot Joey and Teá.

"My friends!" Yugi shouted and ran to them.

"Don't even bother, Yugi. They will remain that way until you have defeated me. I will even let your other friend free. But, if I win, they will remain that way for ever." Bacua sneered. "So what's it going to be, little Yugi?"

"Willing" his dueldisk, Yugi looked Bacura straight in the eye.

"Let's duel!" he shouted.

"Wise choice." Bacura said with a menacing grin and "willed" his dueldisk as well.

(A.N. YUGI AND BACURA'S DUEL WILL PROCEED AS IN CANON)

 _Scenewhitch_

 _(With Yami)_

Meanwhile, Set an Yami had joined Shada and Shimon.

"I am so glad to see that both of you are all right." Shimon said relieved.

"I wish I could have said the same for my father." Seto replied.

"Where **is** Aknadin?" Shada asked.

"Kisara sent him to the Shadow Realm." Yami answered. "How are things looking here?"

"It is too soon to tell. All we know is that Zorc has awoken and will be here soon." Shimon answered.

And true to his word, Zorc really had awoken. He is a horrid black creature with two heads. The first head has a set of horns like a ram, slit red eyes and a set of theeth that will give any normal person nightmares. The second head, a combination of a dragon and a snake's head, was located at his stomach. Protruding from its back, was a set of bat-like wings. Zorc didn't have normal hands, he had claws and a horn grew from each elbow.

As Zorc walked over to the village, dark, ominous clouds followed him. And it was from those clouds, that came an attack no one expected: a lightning bolt heading straight for Yami.

"Look out, pharaoh!" Yami heard Shada shout and felt himself being pushed out of the way.

"My pharaoh, you are safe." Yami thought he heard Shada say.

Turning around, Yami saw a burnt, broken diadhiank and the millennium key lie on the ground. Yami had, however, not seen the white portal that opened beneath Shadi's feet, close up.

"We mus regroup at the palace! We have too much ground to cover. Let us retreat!" Seto told Yami, who nodded gravely.

Picking up the millennium key, Shimon said, "And I shall buy you some time."

"But Shimon, -" Yami started but Shimon silenced him.

"You were still young at the time, but before Shada came along, I was the one who held the key.

"Very well, Yami agreed begrudgingly.

"Best of luck, Shimon." Seto said and told the soldiers to retreat.

'I may be old but a long time ago, I had locked away a powerful monster with this very key. Back then I had sworn never to release its seal, but now, it seems that I have no other choice but to call upon him.' Shimon thought.

Activating the key, Shimon called out, "With this key, I call upon the great defender of Egypt: Exodia!" With that 5 tablet that was held in a 5- pointed star.

"Exodia, Obliterate!" Shimon ordered his monster. Breaking the chains of his shackles, Exodia put his palms together and fired a deadly blast at Zorc.

Unfortunately, though, try as he might, not even The Unstopable Exodia was strong enough to defeat Zorc, the dark one.

Grabbing Exodia by the neck, Zorc slowly started to squeeze it.

"You are no match for me! I am the lord of darkness!" Zorc shouted as his claw squeezed Exodia's neck even tighter.

Shimon, who was directly "connected" to Exodia, slowly felt how his airways became more and more constricted and started gasping for air, when he felt arms wrapping around him from behind and dragging him backwards, through a white portal that closed up in front of him, with him still on the inside

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(Back at the palace)_

"My pharaoh, it seems that Shimon's summon had fallen." Seto said.

"That means that it is up to us to defeat him. It seems that we keep fighting a losing battle." Yami said grimly.

"Do not lose hope, my king. We cannot give up. The fate of Egypt depends upon us." Seto said. "And now that push has come to shove, I think you know what you have to do. There is only one way to summon a creature as powerful as Zorc. You must summon the three Egyptian gods."

"I know." Yami answered when a wave of dizziness hit him. Stumbling to the ground, Seto was able to catch him just in time.

"But you cannot summon the gods in your current state." Seto said. "Even with your puzzle, you are simply too weak to summon them."

"I may be able to help you with that." a feminine voice said.

Looking up, they saw Mai with a medical bag in her hand.

"Mai? What are you doing here?" Yami asked.

"I may be a duelist, Pharaoh, but I am also a medic, remember? I may not be of any help when it comes to that walking nighmare over there, but I can help you. U beed tiy ti sut diwb for a while though, and hold out your arm while you're at it." she said.

Sitting down, he held out his arm.

Kneeling at his side, she rummaged in her bag.

"I did a little experiment." she explained. "When we came here, Mana told us to "will" our dueldisks. So I tried it with my medical bag, and poof, here it is."

Quickly, she cleaned his inner elbow with an anti-septic, before pickig up a little bottle and an injector.

Pulling on the plunger of injection, Yami watched how the tube filled with a fluid. Pushing the plunger lightly, she tapped the needle to make sure there wasn't any air left in the injector.

"I'm going to give you an energy-booster shot. I don't know if it will affect that life-force meter onyour wrist, but it will at least keep you going." she explained.

"How long will it take before it will start working?" Seto asked.

"A few minutes." Mai answered as she put the equipment back in her bag.

"We don't have that kind of time. Every second is crucial." Yami said and started to get up, but Seto pushed him back into his sitting position.

"Then we will simply have to make time." Seto said determined. "Look," he said and pointed at Yami's wrist, "even though she did not know whether your life-force meter, it is slowly filling up. You need someone to keep Zorc busy until the meter has filled up completely, and I am just the person to do it."

"No, Seto-" Yami started, but Seto cut him off.

"Do not worry about me. I cannot be defeated so easily." he said and ran off.

 _Scene and Timeswitch_

Facing Zorc, Seto called out, "Zorc, in the name of the pharaoh, I shall return thee to the Realm of Shadows!" and took off, running straight at Zorc.

"Foolish human, the dark Realm of which you speak is now here on Earth, where I shall reign supreme!" and shot a red ball at Seto.

Dodging it, Seto kept running at his enemy.

"You are a trespasser, Zorc, only in tis kingdom, but in this world." Seto shouted while running. "And it is about time someone remove you!"

Activating his rod, he yelled, "Kisara, lend me your power! White Dragon, come forth!"

A giant ball of light shot from the rod, heading straight for Zorc and pushed him onto his back, before it flew up to the sky.

Taking for, Blue Eyes WhiteDragon shot its White Lighting at Zorc. Zorc simply deflected it with its arm.

Seeing that its attack was of no use, Blue Eyes forced the moon that had moved in front of the sun when Zorc was freed to move, weakening him.

"Kisara, ii had never realized how powerful you are." Seto said in awe.

Unfortunately, Seto was in such awe, that he had never seen what Zorc's second head was doing until it was too late; it had tunneled its way until it was directly underneath Blue Eyes. Suddenly, it shot up from the ground and grabbed Blue Eyes by the neck, and dragged it to the ground.

"Kisara!" Seto shouted in anguish.

Taking it by its claws, Zorc said, "Everything falls to the darkness!" and with that, he turned Blue Eyes to stone.

"No!" Seto shouted, when he suddenly felt something strange happening to his hand. Looking down, he was aghast to see his hand and arm were turning black.

"The shadows are taking me!" he said in disbelief, falling to his knees. As he fell forward, he fell right through a white portal that closed up once he was inside.

 _Scenewitch_

 _(With Yugi)_

As his lifepoints dropped to zero, Bacua hatefully glared at Yugi.

"I won the duel, Bacura." Yugi said. "Now let my friends free."

"Fine, little Yugi, but just because you won the battle, does not necessarily mean that you have won the war! No one can defeat Zorc, the "dark one"!" he shouted and vanished, leavin an unconscious Tristan behind to fall to the floor.

"Tristan!" Yugi and the now loose Teá and Joey shouted and ran up to him.

Moaning, Tristan opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

"Are you ok?" Yugi asked.

"How did Bacura get hold of you?" Joey demanded, "Wait if you had been Bacura's puppet for such a long time as he claimed earlier, then it means that **you** were the one to steal the priests' millennium items!"

"I did WHAT?" Tristan asked not sure if he heard Joey correctly.

"We'll explain later." Teá intervened. "We need to get out of here and back to the pharaoh so that we can try that riddle again."

Running down the corridor, Tristan shouted, "Why do we need to try the riddle again? Didn't we come here in order to find the pharaoh's name so that we can sidestep it?"

"Yeah, and it would have worked too, except that the nameplate thing is completely bank!" Joey answered.

"What? How can that be?" Tristan shouted. "Has it been scraped out already?"

"Try 'it hasn't been inscribed yet'." Teá answered. "Apparently, there was an era where a ruler's name was only inscribed when the deceased ruler is being buried." she explained. "Unfortunately for us, it just so happens, that the pharaoh comes from that era as well!"

"Hey look! There's light up ahead!" Yugi shouted.

When they finally reached the end of the runnel, however, they were welcomed by the "finely sight of Bacura's horseback 'reapers'.

"O great." they said in unison.

Willing their dueldisks, Tristan and Joey started fighting off the eyesores.

Running up to them alongside Teá, Yugi told them that they didn't have time waste and that they should rather concentrate on getting out of there.

"No sweat." Joey replied.

A few seconds later, the gang found themselves flying in the air.

"Hey, I can fly!" Joey said excitement.

"This is so cool!" Teá shouted.

"Hey, if we "will" it hard enough, do you think we can change those punks into something more interesting?" Tristan asked.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" Joey asked.

"Pork chops and apple sauce, pork chops and apple sauce!" they said together. Unfortunately for our friends who have bottomless pits for stomachs, nothing happened.

"Nothing happened." Tristan pouted.

"Great, we have the power to fly, but we can't get a decent meal." Joey said.

"We're running out of time, guys." Yugi said. "Let's kick into hyper speed!"

 _Scenewitch_

 _(With Yami)_

As he kneeled on the ground in pain with Mai by his side, Yami was becoming desperate. Seto had lost and the Egyptian gods were all turned to stone.

"Mai, can you give me another booster shot?" he asked. 'I need to keep going until Yugi gets back!' he thought.

"No, it's too soon!" Mai answered regretfully. "Giving you another shot could kill you."

"The Egyptian Gods have fallen!" Zorc shouted in triumph. "You see, pharaoh, even your so-called deities of domination were forced to surrender when confronting with the power of the Shadow Realm, a world I created centuries ago, a world that is now converging with your own. For when you people fashioned the millennium items, you opened the doorway to the darkness. And now the human world as you know it shall crumble!" and with that he punched Ra's head, breaking it.

Shuddering, Yami almost gave in to the pain, but Mai kept him up.

"C'mon, Pharaoh, get up. Don't give him the satisfaction of seeing you in pain!" she urged.

"Yugi. I cannot do this without you. I need your help!" Yami pleaded softly so only Mai could her him.

Turning to Yami, Zorc said, "We now stand face to face for the last time- the light of hope against the lord of darkness. And just as it has been since the dawn of time, darkness shall prevail. That is the inevitable cycle of existence. You see, pharaoh, the universe was born without light. All that existed was a vast wasteland of shadows. And though fleeting moments occur, during in which light attempts to illuminate this darkness, in the end, it always extinguished. And the same holds truth for you. You are a mere flicker whose fate now has expired!

"You're wrong." Yami retorted with conviction. "There is no darkness without light. And it is light that gave life to this world, Zorc. It is light that gives us hope. And it is light that shall defeat you!"

"Then let us put your theory to the test!" Zorc shouted and shot an attack of pure fire at Yami. The attack, however, never reached Yami and Mai, for Shadi, who had merged with Hassan intercepted.

"Hassan!" Yami shouted.

A few seconds later, Hassan's mask cracked, revealing Shadi.

"Pharaoh, look!" Mai said, astonished.

"It's you! Shadi!" Yami said, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Help is on the way! Do not give up to despair!" Shadi yelled as he held back Zorc's attack before he disappeared.

"Shadi!" Yami shouted, reaching out to where he was a few seconds ago.

"Do not give up!" Shadi's voice echoed

TBC


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 _Previously_

" _Help is on the way! Do not give up to despair!" Shadi yelled as he held back Zorc's attack before he disappeared._

" _Shadi!" Yami shouted, reaching out to where he was a few seconds ago._

" _Do not give up!" Shadi's voice echoed_

 _On with the story_

"Your last defense is gone, Pharaoh!" Zorc taunted Yami. "Behind whom are you going to hide now? Face it, Pharaoh, you are alone!"

"No he is not!" Mai shouted and stood up, "willing" her dueldisk.

"No, Mai! Don't do it! You know what the Shadow Realm is like!" Yami said, referring to the time she lost to Malik.

"And that is why I will be fine!" she said and winked at him. "After all, I know that all of you will be waiting for me when I come back, right?"

Summoning Harpie's pet Dragon, she stood ready.

"I destroyed the Egyptian gods, girl. Do you really think your fly can hurt me?" Zorc asked mockingly and opened his second mouth, shooting a jet of fire.

"AAAAAA-HAAAAAAA-AAAAAA" a feminine scream caught their attention.

'Mana?' Yami thought instinctively.

When the attack finally ended, Yami saw someone landing not too far from them. The form gasped in pain on her knees for a while before standing up and walking over to them.

"Valkyria, are you alright?" Yami asked once he recognized her.

"How were you able to deflect that attack just now?" Mai asked astonished.

"Easy, I absorbed it." Valkyria answered.

'Just like Mana when we fought Dartz's snake.' Yami thought. "Unbelievable.'

"Here." Valkyria said and muttered a spell over Yami. Slowly, he started to feel better.

"Try as you might, Pharaoh, you will never defeat me!" Zorc said. "Give up!"

"Never!" Yami shouted and fell to the ground.

"What makes you think you can defeat me if you cannot even stand?" Zorc mocked and raised his claw.

Raising her staff, Valkyria raised a shield for protection.

"Your shield cannot hold me back girl." Zorc said and shot one attack after the other at it.

"I won't be able to hold it much longer!" Valkyria warned the others.

"Please, Yugi! I know you're out there!" Yami shouted as he saw the shield crack.

Suddenly, a bright light caught their attention.

 _Sceneswitch_

 _(With Yugi)_

(A.N. SOON YOU WILL THAT FLASBACKS WILL KEEP POPPING UP. PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, EVERYTHING WILL MAKE SENSE SOON.)

"We're not too late!" Yugi said as he and the others flew over to Yami, Mai and Valkyria.

"Pharaoh!" Teá shouted.

"Hey, it's us!" Tristan picked up where she left off.

"Joey! Guys, you're alright!" Mai shouted, relieved to see that they are all right.

"Thank you, my friends." Yami also said in relief.

 _Flashback 1_

" _I guess it is safe for me to assume that I am forbidden to remove the wristbands?"_

" _That is correct. If he manages to solve the riddle, the wristband will break and you will have full control of your power."_

 _Flashback End_

"You should have stayed in your own world, mortals." Zorc shouted and sent a powerful blast at the gang. Luckily, they were able to fly out of the way just in time.

"There's not much time." Yugi said.

"Then let's help the pharaoh! In the meantime, try to remember what the riddle said." Teá said.

"Yugi, watch out!" Yami shouted.

"They're all right, thank goodness." Mai whispered.

Hearing the sound of neighing horses, the gang turned, only to see those reapers coming at them at full speed.

"First, the lord of darkness, and now these guys?" Joey said in exasperation.

"Yugi, any last minute plans?" Teá asked nervously.

Grunting, he said, "You know what I always say right: when in doubt, put your faith in the Heart of the Cards! And with the deck the pharaoh and I built together, I can blast this creep back to the Shadow Realm.

"Let's hope so." Yami said softly.

"We have a saying back home: It's time to duel!"

 _Flashback 2_

" _But what if he cannot solve the riddle?"_

" _Then you will have to find another way to stop him"_

 _There is only one thing I know of that will stop him; I will have to do what I did with the snake."_

" _Let us hope that it will never come to that!"_

 _Flashback 2 End_

"I summon Dark Magician!" Yugi yelled.

Appearing in full glory, Yami could hardly believe his eyes.

"You're back!" he said in disbelief.

"Of course, my pharaoh, I had been created and then separated from my creator so that I could always be there to protect you." Dark Magician answered. "Now, let's duel!"

"Sounds good to me!" Yugi said.

"Well, you're not going to do this alone, pal! I play Red-Eyes Black Dragon" Joey shouted.

"I'll help!" Tristan said and played Super Robo Yaro.

"Me too!" Teá volunteered and summoned her Fire Sorcerer.

"Harpie's pet Dragon, go help the others!" Mai ordered. Taking flight, it joined the others.

Meanwhile, the 'reapers' transformed and started flying straight at them.

"You go help the pharaoh; leave these demons to us." Dark Magician told the summoners.

"Good luck!" Yugi said and flew to the pharaoh with the others.

"Soldiers of Zorc, begone!" Dark Magician shouted and as one, the summons started to fend off the never-ending army of skeleton 'reapers.'

 _Flashback 3_

" _Why? If I do it again, I will die, yes, but it will die with me."_

" _It will be so much more than just that!"_

 _Flashback 3 End_

"Are you all right?" Yugi asked as they landed by Yami, Mai and Valkyria.

"I knew you'd return. Thank you." Yami said, grateful.

"We'll have you back to your old self in no time!" Joey said optimistically as he let go of Mai and put Yami's arm over his shoulders.

 _Flashback 4_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Think about it- you had sealed yourself and that thin and was freed 5000 years later and had then come back here. If he fails and you have to use that method again, you will die, only to wake up in 5000 years so that you ccan come back again to die again, only to be freed_ _ **again**_ _in 5000 years. In other words, if you use that method a second time, you will forever be caught in an endless loop._

 _Flashback 4 End_

"I'm afraid I disagree!" Zorc said and charged a red ball.

"Oh no!" Dark Magician said and used his Dark Magic Attack on Zorc to distract him. His plan had worked.

"If you are finished, then allow me." Zorc said irritated and shot an attack at Dark Magician.

It was only by divine intervention that Dark Magician escaped in time.

"We're doomed." Joey said, dryly.

"Yugi," Yami said urgently, catching everyone's attention, "were you able to find the location of my name?"

"Uh, Yeah." Yugi answered carefully.

"Well then, what is it?" Yami asked expectantly.

Laughing evilly until he shook, Zorc said, "These mortals might have might have found the location, Pharaoh, but they won't be able to tell you what it is."

"But why?" Yami asked.

"It is simple. This is the era where the ruler's name is only inscribed when the ruler is buried. Right now, that cartouge that should hold your name is completely blank!" Zorc answered mockingly.

Looking at Yugi in utter disbelief, Yami asked, "Is this true?"

Grudgingly, Yugi admitted "It's true. We made it through your tomb. But when we got there, it was blank."

Disappointed and in complete despair, Yami looked down.

"Grandpa told me of such an era." Yugi continued, "I had just never thought that you'd be from that era."

"Are you telling me that you never even **tried** solving the riddle- that you had sent them off on a wild goose chase?!" Valkyria demanded.

"Hey, lay off!" Teá said in self-defense. "There were just too many gaps that we couldn't solve.

"Okay, guys," Joey said, "name or no name, we've got some but to kick."

"Yeah!" Tristan said.

"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, inferno fire blast!" Joey commanded.

"Super Robo Yaro, your turn." Tristan added.

But Zorc had swiftly finished off both Super Robo Yaro and Red-Eyes Black Dragon. After those summons were gone, Zorc aimed for Fire Sorcerer as well as Harpie's pet Dragon, quickly killing them off as well, leaving their summoners in a tremendous amount of pain.

"Call me crazy," Tristan said, still cringing in pain, "but this is a little more painful than dueling back home."

"Gee, what makes you say that, Tristan?" Joey asked sarcastically as he moved over to Mai to see if she was all right, "The fact that we're all doubled over in pain?"

"Don't look now, but our friends are back again." Yami said, referring to the 'reapers.'

Charging an attack with all he had, Dark Magician shot it at Zorc, but it didn't even leave a scratch on him.

Zorc roared, "Have you fools not learned that I am impervious to all attacks, including yours? Now surrender your spirit to the Shadows!" and killed him off as well.

 _Flashback 5_

"… _you will forever be caught in an endless loop."_

 _Flashback 5 End_

"Then and endless loop it will have to be." Valkyria said softly and walked forward.

"Wait, what?" Mai asked.

Ignoring Mai, Valkyria kept walking until she was about 10 meters in front of them.

'I know what I must do now. I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but it seems that I have no other choice.'

"But first…" she muttered and lit her staff. Instantly seven portals opened and out stepped Mahad, Isis, Karim, Kisara, Shada, Shimon, Seto and Shadi. None of them were sporting even a scratch.

"What? How is it possible?" Yami whispered.

"Mahad!" Isis shouted, ran to him and hugged him tightly. Mahad immediately hugged her back.

"Seto!" "Kisara!"

"Shada, you're alive." "Master, what happened?"

"Look, there's the pharaoh!" Karim said.

Everyone hastened over to him.

"My king, what happened? Why are none of use dead?" Shimon asked.

"It seems that she saved you." Yami answered and pointed at Valkyria.

"What is she doing?" Yami heard someone ask, but was too focused on Valkyria to worry about anything else.

Meanwhile, Valkyria had lit up. When the lieght died down Yami could not believe his eyes; there, in the flesh, stood Mana with Dark Magician Girl floating at her side.

 _Sceneswtich_

 _(With Mana)_

Panting heavily Mana bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"Mistress, why did you separate us?" Dark Magician Girl asked.

"Listen to me … Dark Magician Girl" Mana panted, "from now on out… you are to aid, serve, and … guide the pharaoh…whenever he has need of you…Do you understand?"

"What are you-" Dark Magician Girl started when realization struck her. "You're not planning to do **that** , are you?" she shrieked.

"Do you understand?" Mana asked again.

"But Mistress, if you do that, you will die!" Dark Magician Girl protested.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND, Dark Magician Girl?" Mana asked angrily.

"Yes." the blonde summon answered.

"Good. Now go!" Mana ordered.

"But you will die!" Dark Magician Girl cried anxiously.

"Then so be it." Mana answered resolutely. "Now go!"

 _Sceneswtich_

 _(With Yami and the others)_

"Hey, Yugi, what was that line about merging in the riddle?" Yami heard Joey ask.

"Something about saving something or someone, but I can't remember." Yugi answered frustrated.

Seeing Dark Magician Girl flying towards him, Yami let go of Joey and awaited her.

When she reached him, Yami saw that she was crying.

"Dark Magician Girl?" he asked.

"I am to serve, aid and guide the pharaoh, as per my mistress' orders." the distraught blonde said, crying non-stop.

"Why what is she about to do?" Mahad demanded.

"She is going to perform a forbidden spell, trapping them both in a stone tablet. Only, she had cast the spell before, so if she performs it again, she will die. And that is her plan; because when she dies from performing it a second time, the one who is captured will die with her." she explained, not knowing that Mana had kept the fact that she would be caught in a loop secret from her.

"No!" Yami said aghast, feeling as if the air was stolen from his lungs, when he remembered his vision.

 _Flashback_

 _Mana raised her right arm to be parallel with the ground, doing the same with the left arm. Then, she raised both arms to let the hands touch above her head. With both her hands touching each other, she brought them down to her chest. Then, disconnecting her hands, she quickly thrust her arms forward._

 _Then, all of a sudden, she interlaced her fingers and harshly thrust her hands against her chest. Shielding his eyes from the bright light that erupted from Mana's body, Yami didn't see what happened to her body, but when the light finally faded, Yami noticed that the great beast was gone, and in the place where Mana stood, was a tablet; a tablet of a smiling Mana with a snakelike creature at her feet._

 _Flashback End_

While Yami remembered the vision, Teá thought out loud, "We need to solve that riddle, and we don't exactly have all day!"

"Okay," Mai said, taking charge, "do any of you remember the riddle?" she asked the priests.

"I do." Isis answered.

"We all do." Seto corrected Isis.

"Okay. You guys recite it, and we'll try to solve it."

(A.N. THE PHRASES SAID BY THE PRIESTS WILL BE IN BOLD, WHILE THE OTHERS' ANSWERS WILL BE NORMAL.)

Isis: " **She walks among you and is known by you all.** "

Tristan: "Pass"

Mahad: " **She will give up all to bring the enemy to a fall.** "

Dark Magician Girl: "That is what my mistress is doing now."

Yugi: "And what she did before as well if you'd think about the incident with the snake."

Seto: " **The queen without a crown**."

Yami: "My father called her his daughter after she saved him; it could relate to that."

Shada: " **She who can merge with others to save those in need**."

Joey: "We saw Mana use Defusion, which means that she had merged before.

Shadi: "And she had saved us in her merged form."

Karim: " **Along with the king in command of three,** "

Mai: "Pharaoh."

Shimon: " **Utter her name,** "

Teá: "Pass"

Yami: " **and together with thee, you shall bring harmony for all eternity.** "

"If I understand you correctly, all evidence points to Mana." Kisara said.

Looking up, everyone saw that Zorc was forming a red ball to shoot at Mana.

"Quickly, Dark Magician Girl, get her out of the way!" Yami ordered.

 _Sceneswtich_

 _(With Mana)_

"What are you planning, girl?" Zorc shouted.

"Putting an end to your tyranny." she answered and raised her right arm to be parallel with the ground, doing the same with the left arm. Then, she raised both arms to let the hands touch above her head. With both her hands touching each other, she started to bring them down.

"No! I will not let you defeat me!" Zorc shouted, and formed a red ball to throw at her.

'No! I need to hurry! Crucial steps have to be performed to form the chains!' she thought when she felt someone grab her hands and lift her off the ground.

Looking up, she saw that Dark Magician Girl was the one who saved her.

"What are you doing?" she asked Dark Magician Girl.

"Serving the pharaoh." Dark Magician Girl answered. "You told me to serve, aid and guide him. And since he told me to save you, I must do what I am told."

Putting her down, Dark Magician Girl turned to Yami. "Will there be anything else, my king?" she asked.

"No, that will be all, Dark Magician Girl, thank you." Yami answered and turned to Mana.

"Why? Why did you do that? I am but a mere servant! I don't have enough magic to perform the spell again!" she said heatedly and whispered to herself, "I have failed."

"That's where you are wrong, Mana! You didn't fail me. And I had you stopped because we figured out the riddle. You sacrificed yourself to save us from leviathan, you merged with Dark Magician Girl to save people in need and you are known to all of us." he said. "It's you, isn't it, Mana? You are the daughter of the Egyptian gods!"

Hearing a cracking sound, Mana looked down. Her wristband were lying on the ground, broken

"Say, goodbye, Pharaoh!" Zorc yelled and shoth another red ball at them.

Looking up sharply, Mana swiftly raised her right hand to deflect the attack. Her shield was so powerful that the red ball bounced to the ground, creating a cloud of dust.

"The darkness is here to stay!" Zorc yelled, but shut up once the dust settled and saw that his enemies were still standing.

"You now possess the power to defeat the "dark one", my son." Yami heard his father's spirit say.

"How, Father?" he asked.

"By calling forth the light of the three Egyptian gods and let it flow through its daughter to swallow the darkness." Aknamkanon's spirit answered.

'So that's what he meant back then.' Yami thought.

 _Flashback_

" _The answer lies with the three Egyptian gods." Yami heard his father's voice run through his head._

 _Flashback End_

"All right," Yami said and called out, "Mighty gods of Egypt, I revive thee!"

TBC


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 _Previously_

" _All right," Yami said and called out, "Mighty gods of Egypt, I revive thee!"_

 _Now, on with the story._

The words had hardly let Yami mouth, when Yugi felt something on his arm that held his duel disk. Understanding what he needs to do, he held up his arm. Instantly three rays (red, yellow and blue) shot out of the dueldisk, zoomed past Zorc, each light going to its own "house." Shortly afterward the first of the Egyptian gods roared and started moving over to mana with the other two not far behind.

Meanwhile, Mana slowly lifter her arms until it was parallel with the ground. Instantly beams of light shot up, formed an arch that met at a point right above her head, and shot down at her, illuminating her in a bright white light.

When the light finally died down, Mana was clad in a dress of pure white. The skirt had gentle feather-like tips (like Fairytail's Erza's white battledress) and the top had a sweetheart neckline with thin see-through sleeves that rested on her arms just below her shoulders.

Looking at her, Yami could only think of one word that would fit her: 'Beautiful.'

"The Egyptian gods are powerless against me!" Zorc mocked, catching Yami's attention. "You already tried this and failed!"

"Yes, but there is one thing I didn't do last time: merge them together!" Yami said confidently.

Dissolving, the three lights, red, yellow, and blue, merged together and formed a dazzling white light.

"And now, I give you the Creator of light!" Yami said, introducing his newest monster.

"Impossible!" Zorc yelled in disbelief.

Opening its eyes, the Creator of light cupped its hands, letting something that looks like gold-dust pour down on Mana.

Cupping her hands at her chest, Mana said in a crystal clear voice:

"By the golden sands

which never stands;

By the silver light

of a moon-lit night;

Banish the darkness

of this land

as I release

from my hand

CLEANSING LIGHT!"

And with that, she thrust her hands forward, a white light shining forth from between her palm, immediately illuminating everything it touch, including Zorc.

"No!" Zorc yelled and reached for Yami. "I shall take you with me!"

But before its claw could even get close to Yami, Mana intercepted, the bright light still shining from her hands and shouted, "I HAD SWORN TO THE LATE AKNAMKANON THAT I WILL GLADLY DIE IN ORDER TO KEEP HIS SON SAFE! YOU WILL NOT ROB EGYPT OF ITS RULER AGAIN! BEGONE!"

"No! curse you, Pharaoh!" Zorc shouted and with that, he crumbled away. The "dark one" was no more and the darkness he had brought with him was gone.

"Thank you, Mana." Yami said in gratitude and looked at her.

Slowly lowering her arms, Mana felt how her knees gave way underneath her, but before she collapsed completely, she found herself in Yami's arms.

"I've got you, Mana. Everything is going to be all right now." Yami said calmingly, as everyone crowded around them.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at Yami and asked in a hoarse voice, "It's over? He's finally gone?"

"Yes, it's all over. You did it, Mana; you saved all of us."

"No." she whispered, "we did it together, just like when we were children." And with that, she closed her eyes.

"Mana? Mana! No, don't die on me, Mana, please!" Yami said anxiously.

"Fret not, Young Pharaoh, she is merely sleeping. Even though she is considered to be my daughter, having my power pass through her is very taxing on her body." the Creator of light informed him.

"So what now?" Teá asked. "I mean, what's next, now that you saved the world and all?"

"Wait for the next bad guy?" Yami guessed and repositioned Mana.

"No, Pharaoh, there will not be another. You and Mana had defeated the embodiment of pure darkness from which all evil is born." the Creator of light corrected him.

"So, I'm done?" Yami asked, unable to believe his ears.

"No," the Creator of light answered, "but you are close. With the help of your friends you have nearly fulfilled your destiny. There is still one task you must complete and it will not be easy, but it will not be as dangerous as it was up till now." and with that, she faded away.

'I guess she means that I must still find my name.' Yami thought.

"My pharaoh," Mahad started, what does she mean that you still have a task to fulfill?"

"It is a long story, Mahad," Yami answered and picked Mana up, "a story that I will tell you at a later time. But come, let us go back to the palace and get some well- deserved rest."

 _Scenswitch_

A few days had passed, but Mana had not woken up yet. Mai had to constantly remind the visitors that Mana was completely fine and will wake up as soon as her body is completely rested.

Yami had been visiting her whenever he could spare the time and on Mai's recommendation, had kept talking to her, telling what had been happening in and out of the palace.

"The repairs are going well." he told her. "At this rate, I'd reckon that we'll be done in about a week's time.

On another note, Seto had been doing everything imaginable to spend as much time as possible with Kisara, including postponing his work. I had heard through the vine the other day, that Kisara had threatened him that if he didn't go do his work at that very minute, she wouldn't marry him anymore. Apparently, Joey had been in the way in the hall when Seto ran to his office. He said that, once he finally came to, he felt like he had been stampeded by a bunch of wild horses. Mai said she didn't even recognize him when she saw him afterward, he looked like a blue and purple alien from a cartoon she had seen as a child!

Mahad and Isis aren't their normal selves either. Isis keeps losing focus in the middle of her visions and starts daydreaming. Mahad, however has it even worse: the poor man is so lovesick that he keeps on messing up his spells. Can you imagine it- the greatest magician, who is known for never messing up, now constantly has spells exploding in his face! I even heard him say that he has grown a whole new respect for you, who didn't even wince in pain for all the spells you messed up and rather just kept on trying the same spell."

He has stayed a little longer, telling her all random things before kissing her lightly on the forehead, promising that he would come again the next day.

That night, however, Mana had awoken. 'It is time. I must keep my promise.'

 _Scenswitch_

Sneaking into his room, Mana walked up to his bed. Yami was sleeping peacefully.

Silently, Mana took off her ruby choker and placed it on a bedside table.

Turning to Yami, she said, "No matter what I am to you, a childhood friend, a magician apprentice, or even a servant, know that I will always love you." With those words said, she leaned over and softly kissed his cheek. "Farewell, Atem. Take care."

And with that, her last task completed, Mana left.

 _Scenswitch_

 _(Yami's dream)_

Opening his eyes, Yami saw that he was standing in a white plane.

"Hello? Is someone there?" he called.

Then he saw something coming towards him. After a while, that something took Mana's form.

"Mana?" he asked as she stood in front of him. "No matter what I am to you, a childhood friend, a magician apprentice, or even a servant, know that I will always love you."

"Wha-" he started.

Standing on the tips of her toes, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, Yami looked at her with wide eyes.

"Farewell, Atem. Take care." she said and with that she turned and walked away.

'Atem? Why would she call me that?' he thought when realization struck him. 'Where is she going?'

"Mana, wait!" he called out, but she ignored him and just kept walking.

"Mana!" he yelled and tried running after her only to discover that his feet were stuck; he couldn't move.

Helplessly, he reached out to her, and tried calling her again. "Mana! Maaanaaa!" but she just kept walking.

 _(End of Yami's dream)_

Sitting up, with a start, he felt relief run through him as he realized that it was just a dream.

He was still thinking of the dream when he saw something glint from his bedside table. Astonished, he saw that it was Mana's ruby choker.

Picking it up carefully, he thought, 'Strange, what would her choker be doing here?'

Lowering it a bit, he had not realized that he had brought it to the same height as the cartouche that was hanging around his neck.

Suddenly, something strange happened, a beam shot out of the ruby, straight at the cartouche and then disappeared. It had happened so fast, that Yami wasn't even able to register what was going on until it was too late.

Lifting his cartouche, he was stunned to see that something was written on it.

"Atem" he read out loud, and with that, it felt as if a gateway to his mind had opened; he started to remember everything. He remembered the first time he met Mana, his father's guidance, his mother's love, his first duel, and the heartbreak, guilt and self-resentment he felt when Mana "died" fighting the lizard, Mahad becoming the Dark Magician and many other things.

A few minutes later, however, the phrase: "Wait a minute, why do I have two sets of memories?" left the mouths of seven people. (A.N. Shadi had disappeared again)

About an hour later, Atem, the priests, save for Mahad, and the gang were found in the throne room. Atem, who had earlier joyously told his friends that he regained his memories and what his name was, was sitting on his throne, impatiently tapping his fingers on the armrest. He had sent a soldier to fetch Mana, but neither the soldier, nor Mana had made an appearance.

"Pharaoh, er Atem, sorry, it's going to take a while to get used to that." Yugi started.

"It's all right, Yugi, I'm having trouble adjusting to it too." Atem answered. "Anyway, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"It's just that, I was wondering if something is wrong? You seem … agitated." Yugi answered hesitantly.

"Not wrong, Yugi; it's just that I had sent for Mana quite some time ago and she has yet to make an appearance." Atem explained.

"She woke up?" Shimon asked, turning to Mai.

"Yes, sometime during the nigh-" she started but was cut off.

"My pharaoh, have you seen Mana?" Mahad asked as he barged into the throne room.

"No, I had sent for her, but she is yet to make and appearance." Atem answered.

"Then, it is too late. Look," Mahad said as he showed them a wand, "this is the first wand I gave her when she became my student. I found it on my desk this morning, its sharp part pointed towards the front of the desk." Mahad said, his shoulders sagging.

"I do not understand. Does performing that task have some kind of significant meaning?" Karim asked.

"In the language of sorcery, when a student returns his first wand to its master, it means that he is giving up in the ways of magic. It means that he is leaving and saying goodbye." Mahad explained.

"My pharaoh," a soldier reported, kneeling, "I am sorry, I have looked everywhere, but I could not find Lady Mana. I event went to her rooms, but when I got there, the room was as empty as if it had not been used for years."

"But that means that Mana-" Teá started and looked over at Atem.

"It means that she is gone." Atem said in a forlorn voice.

 _Scenswitch_

Meanwhile, Mana had returned to the future. Sighing, she slowly opened her eyes.

"Welcome back, my dear." she heard a masculine voice say.

Looking up, she saw a man in a wine-red suit. He had long pink hair that reached his shoulders that was styled in such a way that it covered his left eye.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Maximillion Pegasus, and I have a proposition for you…"

ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue

Almost ten months later, Mana found herself walking down the corridor to her studio.

'Wow,' she thought, 'who would have thought that Mr Pegaus' "little tournament" would be so taxing?'

Mana had been a secretary for Pegasus' **Best of the Best** tournament and it had been quite a challenge for her. Originally, she started working as an artist for the purpose of creating new cards, but when Croquet had suddenly fallen ill early on in the tournament, she had to step in as a temporary secretary.

'Luckily, Mr Pegasus had allowed me to work from behind the scenes, making it a little easier.' she thought. 'And now that the 3-month tournament is over and Croquet is finally cleared to come back to work tomorrow, I can finally start concentrating on my real work: painting.

 **Best of the Best** …I wonder if Yugi or Joey participated. If they were here, I am sure the others wouldn't be too far away. I know I should contact them, but I couldn't bring myself to do that just yet, they all remind me of Atem too much. Atem… if he was here...' Shaking her head, she thought, 'stop it, Mana. You're only going to make your home sickness worse if you keep thinking about him and them.'

Closing the door of her studio, she turned on the lights and walked over to the easel and buried herself in her work. She concentrated on her work so much that she never heard the door of her studio open and close.

"Hello, Mana." She heard Atem say.

Stopping, Mana frowned, shook her head and continued to work.

"Mana." Atem said again and walked over to him.

"O great, I'm so homesick that I am even starting to hear his voice." she said and sighed, lowering her head. "I'm going crazy!"

"No, you are not, Mana." Atem said behind her.

Gasping, Mana swirled around; looking straight into the eyes of the man she thought she'd never see again.

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded. "You're supposed to be back in …"

"Ancient Egypt?" Atem guessed. "Well, I thought that it was high time I brought my betrothed home, to where she belonged." he answered confidently.

"How do you know about that? I never told-" she started when realization struck her, "Mai-she told you?"

"Yes, she did. That, and a few other things…"

 _Flashback_

" _My pharaoh, I know that you are still upset about Mana's sudden departure, but it is time we bring Aknadin back from the Shadow Realm so that we can judge him and if need be, sentence him." Shimon said._

" _Very well. Be ready to grab him." Atem told the guards and activated his millennium puzzle, dragging Aknadin back from the Shadow Realm._

 _Grabbing the still panting Aknadin, the soldiers dragged him to his feet and held onto him._

 _Gasping, Mai asked the soldiers to keep holding him as they currently were. Turning to Mahad, she said, "I know this is going to sound strange, but could you darken the lightning of this room until I tell you to stop?"_

 _Turning to Atem for permission, he started darkening the throne room._

" _Okay, that's it." Mai said and turned to Yami. "Can you have him lift his head?"_

 _Signaling a soldier, he lifted Aknadin's head._

 _Squinting for a while, Mai gasped again._

" _It's you! You were the one who threw that dagger – the dagger Mana jumped into!"_

 _Turning back to Atem, she explained, "I was with her that night it happened. She told me to stay hidden behind the pillars, but I sneaked a peek and saw a golden glint from where the eye should be. And when they picked him up right now, I saw that same glint!"_

" _That was you? Mahad asked in disbelief. "Why?"_

 _Aknadin remained silent._

" _Something is puzzling me, though. Mana called herself a servant, but I don't understand why; she was an apprentice in magic, not a servant." Yami said._

" _I can help you there." Mai answered._

" _You can?" Atem asked._

" _Yes, but before I can answer you, I need to ask you something. Did you know that Mana was betrothed?" she asked._

" _What?" Yami said, shock written all over his face. "No, this is the first I hear of it. Mahad, you were Mana's teacher. Did you know of this?"_

 _The stunned Mahad shook his head, "No, this is the first time I hear of it too."_

" _I wonder…" Mai speculated. "I have something to show you. May I?" she asked._

 _Upon receiving his nod, she walked up to him and gave him a scroll._

 _Reading the contents, Atem's eyes grew in shock._

" _I was right, wasn't I?_ _ **You're**_ _the one she's betrothed to." Mai said._

" _But why? Why did I never know of this and why did she never tell me?"_

" _I'll get to that in a moment, but first, is a priest allowed to enter another priest's apprentice's room when the apprentice isn't present?"_

" _Not as far as I know of." Yami answered and turned to Mahad. "Mahad?"_

" _No, it isn't allowed, but what does it have to do with all of this?" Mahad asked._

" _You'll understand in a while, but to answer your question of earlier, Atem, do you remember the time Mana exploded at Rebecca when she said that Mana wasn't 'wanted or needed' and then ran off?" Mai started to explain._

 _Atem nodded. 'How could I forget?' he thought._

" _Well, I followed her and found her sitting on a fallen tree trunk…"_

 _(Flashback in Flashback)_

" _She wasn't right about everything, but she was right about one thing," Mana said softly, "I am not wanted. I never was."_

" _No, Mana!" Mai protested, "How can you even-"_

" _I was betrothed once, you know?" Mana started, "He didn't want me either. Then again," she said, smirking ruefully, "he didn't know we were betrothed either."_

" _Why didn't you tell him?" Mai asked her gently._

" _Would you have told Joey that you two were betrothed if he called you a servant behind your back?" Mana answered Mai's question with a question of her own._

 _(Flashback in Flashback End)_

 _"But I didn't do that! Mana was my best friend since we were children! I would never call her that!" Atem protested vehemently._

" _Patience, there's more." Mai said, "I could see that she needed someone to talk to, so I encouraged her to explain.…_

 _(Flashback in Flashback 2)_

" _The betrothal was done between our fathers in secret and only the original betrothal contract existed. No other copies were made._

 _When my parents died, his father took me in and secretly raised me. He personally taught me all I needed to know to one day be able to stand by my betrothed's side as his wife in such a way that I would never notice what he was planning (his wife died when I was still very little), as well as everything he knew about magic._

 _When he was on his deathbed, though, he called for me, explained everything to me and told me to keep the contract hidden until my betrothed was 18 years old and present it to him on the day of his 18_ _th_ _birthday as a last present from him. My betrothed was 16 at the time and I was 14._

 _I hid it in a secret compartment in my bed's leg. I didn't often check to see if it was still there, because I didn't want to arise suspicion if someone came into my room and constantly caught me kneeling at the bed's leg._

 _As time moved on, marriage offers started rolling in, princesses, noble ladies and whoever the council thought was worthy, and my betrothed started running to me whenever they showed up at the palace. At that point, I had decided a long time ago that I was going to tell him that I didn't expect from him to fulfill a promise made by our fathers when we were still infants._

 _So the day before his 18_ _th_ _birthday, I went to fetch the contract with the intention of cleaning it from dust and cobwebs and make sure that it was still neat. It was only then, however, that I discovered that it was missing. I ransacked my entire room, upturned everything, double and event triple checked everywhere, but nothing."_

" _It was stolen?" Mai asked with wide eyes._

" _And I don't even know when. I then decided to tell him that we were betrothed. A woman who worked for him would have been able to tell him whether I was telling him the truth or not._

 _At that point, I still had the intention of telling him that I wasn't going to keep him to our fathers' promise, but the next day, as I was walking to the throneroom, I heard him and someone else coming from the other side._

 _I was nervous. I didn't have proof of what I was going to tell him anymore, so I hid behind a pillar._

 _It was then that the other person teased him: "So when are you and the magician apprentice going to tie the knot?"_

 _My betrothed answer was: "Why would I marry her? You said it yourself; she is an apprentice in magic, nothing more than a common servant.""_

 _(Flashback in Flashback 2 End)_

" _She told me that after she heard you say that, she had decided to let the whole thing go, with all of you none the wiser. The thief had taken the only proof in existence, and had most likely destroyed it ages ago. It was then that she turned to her studies and started focusing on the incoming dangers." Mai told them. "Two years later, she ran away to face the worm."_

" _But if it had been stolen, where did you find it? And who took it?" Atem asked._

" _Let me put it this way; I hope your soldiers are strong or that you have more men to hold him down properly, because the one who stole it was none other than Aknadin!" Mai said and pointed accusingly at Aknadin._

 _The throne room grew silent as tension kept building up._

" _How do you know this?" Yami asked, his voice strained._

" _I'll explain." Mai said. "It happened while she was still recuperating after her battle with Oricál. I had taken her to the courtyard for some fresh air and sunlight…_

 _(Flashback in Flashback 3)_

 _(Mai POV)_

" _You stay here for a while, I while, I quickly have to go get something in your room." I told Mana._

 _Walking down the hall, I turned to go into Mana's room when I saw someone was already in there, and he was fiddling with one of the legs of Mana's bed._

' _What is he doing? Oh, I wish I was invisible!' I thought, only to discover that I had indeed become invisible._

' _Shoot, he's coming!' I thought and stepped out of the way. 'Hey, you didn't have a scroll with you a few minutes ago!' I thought and followed him._

' _This must be his room." I thought when he confidently walked into another room._

 _Walking up to a wall on the opposite side of the room, he tugged on a lampstand on the wall, opening a secret compartment, put the scroll in, returned the lamp stand to its correct position to close the compartment, and left the room._

 _Waiting a minutes, I sneaked a peek to see if the coast was clear, ran over and tugged the lampstand, took the scroll, returned the lampstand to its correct position, made my way back to Mana's room and hit it between my things._

 _(Flashback in Flashback 3 End)_

 _(3_ _rd_ _person P.O.V.)_

" _I looked at it later on; it's all Greek to me, but I reckoned that it must be important enough to Aknadin if he wanted it so badly for him to resort to stealing it." Mai explained._

" _It makes me wonder what else he did." Joey said and turned to Aknadin. "I think you'd better fess up, the evidence are stacking up against you."_

 _But still Aknadin remained as quiet as a mouse._

" _I've had enough." Seto said. "Mahad, do you know any spells that will loosen that man's tongue?"_

 _Mahad nodded._

" _Then please use it before I cause him bodily harm."_

 _Casting the spell, Aknadin started talking._

" _I did it all for Seto. The enemy was basically on us and we had no way of defending ourselves. I told Aknamkanon that I deciphered a spell from the millennium spell book, that will give us a chance to defeat our enemies, but it needed sacrifices. Knowing that Aknamkanon would stop me if he heard what the ritual entails, I kept that little detail secret. It was, after all, for the greater good._

 _But then that fool Obadaiah and his wife became too curious and started putting their noses where it wasn't wanted. So I had them silenced; how was_ _ **I**_ _to know they had a child?"_

" _You were the one who killed Master Obadaiah!?" Mahad demanded._

" _And Lady Isa!?" Isis added._

" _Isa and Obadaiah had a child?" Shimon whispered, shocked._

 _Ignoring them, Aknadin continued, "But when Aknamkanon took her in, I knew he had plans for her. Therefore, I watched and waited._

 _When Aknamkanon was on his deathbed, I knew that if there was an agreement of some sort, he would give it to her. So I had all the princesses and noble ladies come here to distract you and irritate her, giving me time to find the contract, and it worked. And then, just to make sure that she would let go of some foolish dream of convincing you, I had my millennium eye show her something to scare her off. It had scared her off even better than I hoped._

 _All that I had to do then, was to get rid her._

 _And then, one day the fool came to_ _ **me**_ _for help, something about wanting to approach you as a concerned citizen who wanted to warn you about upcoming danger of some kind involving a snake and a troll. I couldn't believe my luck! So I placed a decree that she was insane and must be caught and thrown in the dungeon._

 _She was taken captive, but the little twit escaped so I had branded her as a traitor. We all know what happened after that …" Aknadin finished off his tale._

 _Silence hung in the air. It was so quiet, that you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at Atem, wondering what would do._

 _Sitting with his eyes closed, Atem sighed._

" _I am sorry, Seto, but if I banish him, he might come back." Atem said regretfully._

" _I would have done the same if I was in your position, my king."_

" _Aknadin, you have committed treason against Egypt, murdered, framed people and betrayed the Royal family. I therefore sentence you to death. However, since I do not want my friends from the future to see this, my priests shall stand witness to this. Seto, if you do not want to be present, you will be excused." Atem said._

 _Seto nodded in thanks._

" _Very well," Atem said firmly, "Aknadin, you shall be put to death immediately. So let it be written, so let it be done. Away with him."_

 _The soldiers dragged Aknadin away. Shimon and the priests, save for Seto, followed._

 _Flashback End_

"It wasn't you?" Mana asked, her eyes wide.

"Who called you a servant? No, it was all Aknadin's doing. How could you even think that I would call you that? We grew up together, for goodness' sakes!" Atem said, affronted.

"If someone had told me that **you** called me a servant, I wouldn't have believed him, but I **saw** you tell the other man that. And why shouldn't I believe that you had called me that? The only time when I was good enough for you in the last years, was when you came to me to escape a princess or a noble lady; any other time you behaved just like the others who believed that I was insane when I tried to warn them of the coming danger and avoided me!" Mana said in self-defense. "So you see, it was easy to believe it when "you" called me a servant."

After staying silent for a while, Atem asked her, "Mana do you know why I had that ruby choker added to your tablet when I sealed Zorc away the first time? I gave you that choker, because even though you thought that of me at the time, you were the only one I trusted enough to keep my memories safe. Because, even though you were lost to me, I wanted to leave a piece of me with you so that we could be together in some kind of way, even it if wan only on a stone tablet." he explained and cupped her cheek softly.

"You did?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Mana, and the reason I always came to you when those princesses and noble ladies came, was because I was hoping they would realize that I wasn't interested in political marriages, because I already loved someone else. That reason, the fact that I was already in love with somebody, is why I was so scarce otherwise; every spare moment I had, I used to look for a way to circumvent the law forming the status barrier. If it hadn't been for that, I would have told you long ago how I felt about you." he admitted.

Tears filling her eyes, Mana flew into his arms, "Atem!"

"Mana, my beautiful, brave Mana!" he said as he held her tightly, before pushing her back slightly, raised her chin and kissed her like he had yearned to do for years.

"Let's us go home, Mana. Our people are waiting for us. The priests told me they want to see the queen that was chosen for them on the throne." Atem said.

"I can't." Mana said sadly. "I made a deal with the gods; I could go back and save everyone, literary change time, but in return, I had to come back to the future and stay here, forever. If I go back with you, everything will go back to the way it originally was."

"No, it won't." Atem assured her. "The gods summoned me the night after you left…"

 _Flashback_

 _(Atem POV)_

" _Wha-? Where am I?" I asked out loud as I looked around._

" _You are in a dimension between the human world and the Spirit world, Atem." I heard a voice say._

 _Looking up, I saw Slifer, the Sky Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra and Obelisk, The Tormentor._ ' _The three Egyptian gods have summoned me?" I thought._

" _You have summoned me?" I asked respectfully._

" _Yes, Atem, you have finally fulfilled your last task." Slifer answered_

" _Finding my name, right?" I asked._

" _Partially, yes, but your task mostly consisted of off what was left undone the first time and solving the crimes that committed against our daughter." Ra answered._

" _The first time?" I asked confused. "Do you mean Mana was the reason my priests and I have two sets of memories – one in which all of us died and one where we all were saved?"_

" _That is correct." Slifer answered. "We had given her the power to come back and change everyone's fate, but we had to test her, because when people get such an enormous amount of power, they tend to abuse it."_

" _So we told her that once all was done, she had to return to the future and stay there." Obelisk explained._

" _She is back in the future?" I asked._

" _Yes; the moment she had woken up, she returned the choker to you and left." Ra explained._

" _I don't understand, why are you telling me all of this?" I asked confused._

" _Because she passed the test. So we decided to reward both her and you." Slifer answered. "Because of her loyalty, both you, her and your friends from the future may come and go as you please. We have created a barrier called_ _ **The Dark Ages**_ _that will prevent any massive changes in the future."_

" _Thank you, mighty gods of Egypt." I said._

" _It is a pleasure, Atem. Now go, bring our daughter home." Ra said_

 _As I started leaving, I realized something and turned. "Where precisely is Mana?" I asked._

" _You don't expect us to tell you everything, do you?" Obelisk said with a teasing gling in his eyes._

 _End of Flashback_

 _(3_ _rd_ _person P.O.V.)_

"About six months after I returned with the others, I received this from Pegasus" he said and held out a card.

Taking the card, she was astonished to see herself. The card was titled: Her Majesty, The Uncrowned Queen.

"Once Mai saw the card, she realized that you were here and explained that she had sent a book of your sketches to him and that he must have offered you a position as an artist. All I had to do was win the tournament so that I could convince him to let me talk to you." Atem explained.

Hugging her again, he said, "Come with me, Mana. Let's go home. Let me make you my queen."

"But what about Mr Pegasus and your friends? We can't just leave without telling anyone where we've gone." she protested.

"Pegasus knew why I came and he said that it's alright; apparently, you had given him "thousands of ideas." As for the others, I told Yugi that if he haven't heard from me by tonight, he can know that all the misunderstandings have been cleared up and that we have gone home." he explained and asked uncertainly, "Are we going home?"

"Yes, please!" Mana whispered.

Hugging her tightly, he whispered, "I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" in her hair.

Mana smiled up at him.

Using his puzzle, he opened a portal, lovingly took Mana's hand and together they walked through it.

The whole kingdom celebrated the wedding and the coronation of Queen Mana.

Egypt flourished under Atem and Mana's rule and a few years later, Mana had given birth to twins – a boy and a girl. Atem had named the boy Yugi and Mana named the girl Mai.

The gang from the future often came to visit their friends in Ancient Egypt and they often went to the future as well. Yugi and Teá had gotten married a few years later as well as Joey and Mai, Tristan and Serenity, Seto Pearson and Kisara, Priest Seto and his Kisara, and Mahad and Isis. Their children had basically grown up together.

Thousands of years later, the title " **King of Games** " had passed on from generation to generation, but the story of Pharaoh Atem and Queen Mana, the trials, heartache and adventures they had with their friends, who were brought together through the Heart of the Cards, were never forgotten.

Up to this day, thousand are still brought together through the game.

THE END


End file.
